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...

Venezuela: Two leaders, one resource, no democracy

Mar 7, 2024 | William Jewell College

The story of Venezuela’s descent into autocracy is not one tale; it is two stories linked together by little more than a transfer of power and an overreliance upon the...

Democratic Erosion in Turkey Can Help Us Understand the Importance of Protecting Institutions in the Face of Extreme Polarization

Feb 28, 2024 | William Jewell College

For the first time since Democracy’s Third Wave in the late 20th century, the number of countries transitioning into democracies has been recently met with the same amount...

2012 Malian Crisis: Multidimensional Erosion of Democracy

Jan 18, 2022 | Koç University

The situation in Mali in 2012 can be examined by two major events. First, the military coup and the collapse of the democratic regime which led to the suspension of the constitution; and second, the...

Trying to Exist in a Patriarchal Society: Women in Bangladesh

Jan 18, 2022 | Koç University

Some of us are lucky enough to live in societies that value women and men equally, but what about Bangladeshi women who have not been so fortunate, either from birth or afterwards? On 24th November...

Protecting Democracy from Authoritarianism in the Case of Italy

Jan 18, 2022 | Koç University

In Italy, 19 coalition administrations were created in the seven legislative periods following 1993, known as the Second Republic, with significant legal reforms impacting political life, and five...

A Wall to Divide Hispaniola Once and For All

Jan 18, 2022 | Koç University

The Dominican Republic, through the voice of its current president, Luis Abinader, has announced the construction of a wall to permanently separate the 380 km border with Haiti in order to combat...

Democratic Integrity and Metaverse Politics in South Korea

Jan 18, 2022 | Koç University

The Seoul Metropolitan Government expressed its ambitions to become one of the first governments to delve into the metaverse realm. As a leading city into the Metaverse, Seoul must be careful...

Democratic Backsliding and Authoritarian Government in Hungary: Prime Minister Orban’s Rejection of EU Laws over Migration

Jan 18, 2022 | Koç University

Hungary’s authoritarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban, who presents himself as the defender of Europe from Muslim migrants, challenges the EU’s rejection of Hungary’s migration law. PM Orban is known...

Democratic Erosion University Course Student Blog

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

2025 Romanian Elections: An Election Redo and a Barred Candidate

Why Protecting American Democracy Means Coming Together In Protest

Venezuela: Two leaders, one resource, no democracy

Democratic Erosion in Turkey Can Help Us Understand the Importance of Protecting Institutions in the Face of Extreme Polarization

2012 Malian Crisis: Multidimensional Erosion of Democracy

Trying to Exist in a Patriarchal Society: Women in Bangladesh

Protecting Democracy from Authoritarianism in the Case of Italy

A Wall to Divide Hispaniola Once and For All

Democratic Integrity and Metaverse Politics in South Korea

Democratic Backsliding and Authoritarian Government in Hungary: Prime Minister Orban’s Rejection of EU Laws over Migration

Ban on Hijab in France: The “Anti-Separatism” Policy

Armenia after the Second Nagorno-Karabakh War

North Macedonia: A Nation Haunted by the Shadow of Gruevski

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