Democratic Erosion University Course Student Blog

Students enrolled in our course are encouraged to write for the course blog, and to read and comment on posts from students at other participating universities. The blog offers students the opportunity to analyze current events through the lens of the theory and case studies they engage with through the course.

These blogs reflect the views of the student authors, and not those of the Democratic Erosion Consortium.

A Never-Ending Crackdown: Daniel Noboa and Ecuador’s Potential Turn toward Authoritarianism

A Never-Ending Crackdown: Daniel Noboa and Ecuador's Potential Turn toward Authoritarianism In January 2024, masked gunmen stormed a live television broadcast in Guayaquil, Ecuador. A notorious gang lord had just vanished from his prison cell. The country was clearly...

Trump has removed the National Science Foundation Board: Where does the overreach stop?

President Donald Trump notified the National Science Foundation’s Board that they were terminated effective immediately. However, this is not the Trump Administration’s first move in abruptly terminating independent institutions. This analysis of the removal explores the implications of this recent attack on independent institutions and academia.

Born Here, Belonging Nowhere: The Constitutional Crisis of Executive Order 14,160

On January 20, 2025, President Donald J. Trump issued executive order No. 14,160 titled “Protecting the Meaning and Value of American Citizenship,” which declared that individuals born in the United States are not U.S citizens at birth if their parents lack sufficient...

The Silver Lining of American Retreat: How U.S. Disengagement from NATO Could Forge a Stronger Europe

Apr 29, 2026 | Suffolk University

There is a peculiar irony at the heart of what is happening to NATO right now. The United States, the alliance’s founding architect and long-time guarantor, has spent the...

Do It Anyway: Why America’s Checks & Balances Are Failing

Apr 29, 2026 | Suffolk University

One of the main campaign promises made by the Trump campaign was to bring prices down for everyday Americans. He promised (and failed to deliver) sweeping economic reforms,...

Protecting Democracy: Indigenous-led Social Movements in Guatemala 2023

Apr 29, 2026 | Tulane University

In 2023, presidential elections were held in Guatemala, and the country chose to protect democracy. With a longstanding history of corruption entrenched throughout the political and economic...

A Nobel Laureate Suspended, A Journalist Jailed: Tunisia’s Slide into Competitive Authoritarianism

Apr 28, 2026 | Suffolk University

On April 24, 2026, Tunisian President Kais Saied’s government suspended the Tunisian League for Human Rights (LTDH). This organization shared the 2015 Nobel Peace Prize for its role in saving the...

On the ousting of Orbán

Apr 28, 2026 | Tulane University

Viktor , standard bearer of the international populist right wing and Prime Minister of Hungary since 2010, has been defeated. The election took place on April, 12th 2026 and saw Péter Magyar, a...

Democracy in Exchange for Security; What is Left When the Concert Ends?

Apr 28, 2026 | Tulane University

Hundreds of thousands of fans filled El Salvador’s national stadium to witness Shakira’s sold out five-night residency of the “Las Mujeres Ya No Lloran World Tour”. Initially the residence was only...

Counter-Gerrymandering and What it Means for American Democracy

Apr 28, 2026 | University of Houston

Gerrymandering is a word well known to most with even a passing interest in politics, but to many who don’t pay attention, it’s a word they’ve just recently started hearing. Gerrymandering is the...

Long Term Effects of the “Secret Club” Scandal

Apr 27, 2026 | Suffolk University

The "Secret Club” Scandal, often referred to as the "Slovenska" affair, shocked Croatian society and uncovered deep seated corruption that goes all the way to the top. During strict COVID-19...

Analyzing the 2024 Mexican Judicial Reforms

Apr 27, 2026 | Tulane University

In 2024, the then-President of Mexico, Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, passed a sweeping overhaul of the judiciary in Mexico. The 2024 judicial reforms introduced a dramatic overhaul of Mexico’s...

Flip a Coin: Voting in the United States of America

Apr 26, 2026 | Suffolk University

Voting in the United States of America is portrayed as the foundation of the world's greatest democracy, the ultimate freedom amongst an endless list of freedoms. But this century has seen a shadow...

The Invisible Line: El Salvador in the Gray Zone between Democracy and Dictatorship

Apr 26, 2026 | George Mason University

Stealth authoritarianism is the process in which political elites gradually erode democratic systems not through overt force but by manipulation of the public’s fear. In this context, El Salvador...