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.

Democratic Erosion: India and the U.S.

Democratic Erosion in the United States and India Intro From 2024-2025, India’s democratic erosion is deeper because of opaque party finance, and because pressures on civil society have made political competition less fair and accountability harder to enforce....

Buying Power: Oligarchy and Clientelism in Georgia

Georgia’s democracy is in rapid decline post-2024 general elections.

TUNISIA’S AUTHORITARIAN TURN: How President Kais Saied Is Dismantling the Arab Spring’s Only Democracy

When Tunisia's citizens overthrew their dictator in 2011, the world hailed Tunisia's emergence from this uprising as the only country to become a true democracy. For several years, Tunisia served as solid evidence that democracy was a realistic outcome of the Arab...

Can Democracies Wait Another 2,500 Years to Meet Today’s Needs?

Dec 11, 2024 | Brown University

In 500 BC, during Athens' golden age of democracy, the voting age was set at 18. Over 2,500 years later, this threshold remains the same in the vast majority (90%) of...

Présidence Impériale: Executive Aggrandizement in Macron’s France

Dec 10, 2024 | Brown University

Romantic evening strolls by the Seine, fragrant cafes and boulangeries, political crises and popular unrest—what is more quintessentially French than these classic Parisian...

The 2022 French Presidential Election: A Call for Political Reform

Apr 27, 2022 | University of Georgia

2022 French Presidential Election Poster The results of the 2022 French presidential election have left many wondering where the future of French political life will lead. While incumbent Emmanual...

Democratic Erosion in Hungary

Apr 27, 2022 | University of Georgia

On April 3 of this year, Hungry re-elected their prime minister Viktor Orban for his fourth consecutive term. His political party, Fidesz won 54.18% of the national party list vote and 83% of single...

History Repeating Itself: Pakistan’s Election Crisis Is Nothing New for the Country

Apr 27, 2022 | University of Georgia

Pakistan has had a troubled history with its leadership, and despite the past few years of relative stability, it seems that trend is not about to change. Not even a few weeks prior, former cricket...

The War in Tigray

Apr 27, 2022 | University of Georgia

While the majority of western media continues its focus on the current Russian invasion of Ukraine, a plethora of armed conflicts continue to rage in the global south. One of the more violent of...

The 2022 French Presidential Election: Far-Right Ideals on the Rise

Apr 27, 2022 | University of Georgia

The 2022 French Presidential election was controversial for a variety of reasons, the largest being the fact that a far-right populist managed to reach the final stages. Marie Le Pen and her...

Banning Opposition and Democratic Backsliding in Turkey

Apr 27, 2022 | University of Georgia

Throughout recent years, Turkey has shown many characteristics of democratic backsliding under the leadership of President Erdogan and his party, the Justice and Development Party. One of the key...

Why Are We So Obsessed with Democracy?

Apr 27, 2022 | University of Georgia

Being a student of political science, I have managed to consume a lot of knowledge and information about the United States democracy and its principles. Throughout my studies, I have always come to...

White Anxiety Helped Trump to Enter the White House

Apr 27, 2022 | University of Georgia

Census projects that the US will become predominantly non-white around the year of 2045. What some people consider as a story of success, might be seen as a substantial sociocultural threat from...

No Civil Society, No Democracy

Apr 27, 2022 | University of Georgia

Civil society plays an integral part in all democracies, especially in building and strengthening democracy. First, what is civil society? Resounding sociologist Larry Diamond, defines civil society...