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 are student blog posts written by student participants in the Democratic Erosion Course. These posts were not written by nor represent the views of the Democratic Erosion Consortium.

Trump’s Press Ban and The Courts Response

Access to unbarred media is fundamental to maintaining the integrity of a democratic country. Without independent media, the stream of information to voters is disrupted making people's understanding of their political environment inaccurate. If the media...

Trump’s Use of the SAVE Database May Threaten Democratic Participation

On Friday, September 25th, the Supreme Court allowed the Trump administration to make use of the Department of Homeland Security's Systematic Alien Verification for Entitlements (SAVE) database to screen state voter lists for possible noncitizens temporarily. The...

The Press and the Limits of Presidential Power

On September 25, 2026, The Atlantic published Quinta Jurecic’s article, “The Two-Year Temper Tantrum to Come,” about President Donald Trump’s recent fight with the White House press. Just one day earlier, a federal judge had ordered the White House to restore access...

Reclassifying Bureaucratic Positions: How Trump’s New Rule Threatens Democracy

Feb 13, 2026 | Boston University

On February 6, 2026, the Office of Personnel Management released a rule authorizing the reclassification of tens of thousands of “policy-influencing” positions within the...

“When the Wolf is Beyond Reproach: An Exploration of Stealth Authoritarianism in America”

Feb 13, 2026 | Boston University

Photo by NASA: www.unsplash.com “When the Wolf is Beyond Reproach: An Exploration of Stealth Authoritarianism in America” Stealth Authoritarianism: How Will We Know? Over...

The Danger of Electing Election Deniers

Sep 28, 2022 | Ohio State University

Across the country, sixty percent of Americans will have an election denier on their ballot. At least 16 states will have a candidate running for secretary of state (or positions that appoint the...

The Consequences of the Demise of the “Chevron Deference”

Sep 28, 2022 | Ohio State University

Murky water runs through your backyard, clouding the water that comes out of your faucet and into the vegetables you wash, the water you use to brush your teeth. However, instead of the...

Who Should Control the Flow of Information in the Information Age: Private Businesses?

Sep 16, 2022 | Suffolk University

Apple iPhone, with many social media apps We practically live on our phones, the average use time on an iPhone is 5-6 hours a day. Given the fact that we are constantly absorbing information from...

Carrots and Sticks: How the Greek Government Undermined Free and Independent Media During the COVID-19 Pandemic

Sep 1, 2022 | Dartmouth College

While Hungary and Poland dominate the discussion of democratic erosion in Europe, it is Greece that ranks last in media freedom among European Union member-states. Since the onset of the pandemic,...

Drought Unlikely to Spark Democratization in Iran

Aug 31, 2022 | Dartmouth College

Over the past two years, large protests for clean drinking water spread throughout drought-stricken Iran. The protests, deemed the Uprising of the Thirsty, were largely unsuccessful and...

El Salvador: Authoritarianism Gone Viral

Aug 31, 2022 | Dartmouth College

Presidential election results in El Salvador, the tiny, Latin American nation may seem to be trivial to most Americans. This outlook, however, is far from the truth. In 2019, El Salvador...

Italy’s Hidden Fractures: A Democracy Dependent on the Unelected

Aug 30, 2022 | Dartmouth College

On July 14, 2022, Italy’s adolescent “national unity” government narrowly escaped complete collapse. Prime Minister (PM) Mario Draghi’s dramatic resignation ended in tentative when he heeded...

When Did Velvet Become Steel? Armenian Authoritarianism Is Now Far More Subtle but No Less Dangerous

Aug 24, 2022 | Dartmouth College

In 2018, many in the West predicted that the resignation of Armenia’s pro-Moscow autocrat Serzh Sargsyan and election of self-proclaimed reformist Nikol Pashinyan would finally lead to democratic...

Election Denialism as an Instrument of Democratic Erosion

Aug 7, 2022 | University of Denver

The most pronounced assault on American democracy is a consortium of three erosive acts proceeding President Trump’s defeat in the 2020 Presidential Election; First, Trump’s disregard for the...