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.

Why Estonia’s decision to disenfranchise non-EU citizens is doing more harm than good

Estonia’s fears over Russian and Belarusian citizens participating in local elections has led to highly restrictive measures that affect far more than those two groups.

Democratic Backsliding or Payback to the Democrats? Unpacking Yoon’s Presidency in South Korea

The post examines the growing democracy erosion in South Korea that preceded the impeachment of Yoon Suk-yeol.

Ballots and Bullets: How Political Violence Is Undermining Democracy in Mexico

Ballots and Bullets: How Political Violence Is Undermining Democracy in Mexico In 2024, Mexico held one of the largest and most consequential elections in its recent history—electing over 20,000 officials nationwide, including a new president, Claudia Sheinbaum...

Anti-Government Protests and Democratic Erosion in Slovakia

Apr 7, 2025 | Tartu University

Anti-Government Protests and Democratic Erosion in Slovakia In its 2025 report, Transparency International highlighted Slovakia as a "country to watch”, noting that the...

How far is too far for South Korea’s presidential pardons?

Apr 2, 2025 | The University of Alabama, Uncategorized

On December 3, 2024, at 10:50 P.M., South Korea’s President Yoon Suk Yeol held an emergency address to the nation. Yoon vowed he would protect his country from communists...

How tolerating and encouraging violence fuels democratic backsliding in Georgia

Apr 1, 2025 | Tartu University

How tolerating and encouraging violence fuels democratic backsliding in Georgia During the past few months, the streets of Tbilisi—the capital of Georgia—have been constantly...

Repression on Repeat: From Kyiv to Minsk to Tbilisi

Apr 1, 2025 | Tartu University

Repression on Repeat: From Kyiv to Minsk to Tbilisi Last October, parliamentary elections were held in Georgia. Many considered them as important as a referendum because Georgian citizens...

The People, the Fear, and the Exhaustion Machine: How Populist Elites in Georgia and Serbia Rule by Chaos

Mar 31, 2025 | Tartu University

The People, the Fear, and the Exhaustion Machine: How Populist Elites in Georgia and Serbia Rule by Chaos In recent elections, during political crises, in every speech and briefing held after...

From Democratic Revolutionaries to Genocidaire Apologists: How the UAE Corrupted Sudanese Civil Society Leaders

Mar 17, 2025 | The University of Alabama

It is an open secret that Emirati planes are touching down at remote Chadian military bases with boxes of “humanitarian aid” - aid that is instead guns, ammo, and drones, destined for the...

Donald Trump the Nazi Reincarnate?: Godwin’s Law and How This Phenomenon is Counterproductive to Understanding Democratic Erosion

Mar 7, 2025 | The University of Alabama

“The assumption was that voters would be turned off by seeing Trump for what he is — authoritarian, pitiless, hateful — and would recognize him as a kind of Hitler.” “Russian Foreign Minister Sergei...

Democratic Erosion University Course Student Blog

Why Estonia’s decision to disenfranchise non-EU citizens is doing more harm than good

Democratic Backsliding or Payback to the Democrats? Unpacking Yoon’s Presidency in South Korea

Ballots and Bullets: How Political Violence Is Undermining Democracy in Mexico

Anti-Government Protests and Democratic Erosion in Slovakia

How far is too far for South Korea’s presidential pardons?

How tolerating and encouraging violence fuels democratic backsliding in Georgia

Repression on Repeat: From Kyiv to Minsk to Tbilisi

The People, the Fear, and the Exhaustion Machine: How Populist Elites in Georgia and Serbia Rule by Chaos

From Democratic Revolutionaries to Genocidaire Apologists: How the UAE Corrupted Sudanese Civil Society Leaders

Donald Trump the Nazi Reincarnate?: Godwin’s Law and How This Phenomenon is Counterproductive to Understanding Democratic Erosion

The Russia-Ukraine War Bodes Poorly for Democracy, But Not in the Way You Think

The Trump Administration’s Attack on USAID

Does Nayib Bukele Present a Compelling Challenge to Democratic Values?

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