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.

Arresting Opposition and Squashing Protests: Democratic Backsliding in Turkey Under Erdoğan

Turkey has been inching towards autocracy under Erdoğan and the AKP for the last 22 years.

2025 Romanian Elections: An Election Redo and a Barred Candidate

Only two weeks out from Presidential Elections, Romanian voters face a tough decision in deciding on the next leader of their country. The latest opinion polls show that nearly 40% of voters are still undecided on who to vote for. After all, most voters already cast...

Why Protecting American Democracy Means Coming Together In Protest

In the lead up to the 2020 presidential election, the Democratic Erosion Consortium's very own professors Robert Blair and Steven Rosenzweig wrote an article in The Boston Globe urging readers to “Get ready to protest like democracy depends on it.” The article was in...

The Only Tzar in the Castle: The Consolidation of Putin’s Rule

May 8, 2024 | Ursinus College

When most think of strongmen, it is often the caricature of Vladmir Putin that comes to mind. A ruthless leader who invokes a rhetoric of nationalism, “traditional values”,...

What Do the 2024 Indian Elections Mean for the Future of the World’s Largest Democracy?

May 8, 2024 | Ursinus College

On April 19, 2024, citizens of India, the world’s largest democracy, will start to participate in the Lok Sabha elections. The Lok Sabha is the lower of the two houses that...

Zambia’s Precarious Democracy

Mar 7, 2022 | Ohio State University

In the Autumn of 2016, an election was held in a deeply divided country. After months of protest, and in the wake of claims of election fraud by the losing party, this country elected a president...

Indonesia’s Push for an Increase in Number of Presidential Terms

Mar 6, 2022 | Ohio State University

As economic unrest continues to unfold in Indonesia due to the pandemic, people have pushed for both a delayed presidential election and the addition of a presidential term, increasing it from two...

Algeria’s 2021 Snap Elections

Mar 6, 2022 | Ohio State University

2021 saw the country of Algeria hold a snap election in which the entire lower house of Parliament was up for reelection, all 407 of them. This was in major part due to the Hirak protest movement...

Autocratic Regimes: The Importance of Free Media During War

Mar 4, 2022 | University of Chicago

Now that Vladimir Putin has launched a full-scale invasion against Ukraine, it is difficult to argue with the reality that Russia should now be considered a fully autocratic regime. Putin has shown...

Targeted by All Sides and Caught in the Crossfire, Journalism Has Become Yemen’s “Death Career”

Mar 4, 2022 | Ohio State University

This month, the International Federation of Journalists along with the Yemeni Journalists’ Syndicate have launched a campaign to draw international attention to the arrest and detainment of four...

Response to Anna Katz: “The Fight for the Soul of the Republican Party Just Suffered Another Loss”

Mar 2, 2022 | Rollins College

Patriarchal Authoritarianism in Egypt: What Women’s Rights Show About Backsliding

Mar 2, 2022 | University of Chicago

The connection between authoritarian regimes and a lack of rights for women has been seen many times before. It is often even a distinguishing trait in the popular discourse, however, the struggle...

What the 2020 Protest Wave Can Tell Us About Polarization and Erosion in the United States

Mar 2, 2022 | University of Chicago

The summer of 2020 brought a fierce wave of protests and demonstrations throughout not only the United States, but much of the world. While perpetuated by the pervasive police brutality that...

Russia: Suppressing Dissent and Evading Accountability

Mar 1, 2022 | University of Chicago

People take part in a protest against Russia's invasion of Ukraine on February 26, 2022, in Frankfurt am Main, western Germany. (Photo by Yann Schreiber / AFP) (Photo by YANN SCHREIBER/AFP via Getty...