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.

Turkey and T24: How Erosion is Demonstrated Through the Populists Toolkit

On September 30th, Turkey’s Criminal Court of Peace banned T24, a news portal based in the country, for alleged “LGBT Propaganda”. This follows suit in a growing number of interdictions spurned on by Recep Erdoğan, the current president since 2014’s, right leaning and...

Defending Democracy While Restricting Press Freedom in Moldova

Can a democratic government protect democracy while restricting press freedom? Ahead of the 2025 parliamentary election, the Moldovan government used broad emergency powers through the “Commission for Exceptional Situations.” As documented in Amnesty International’s...

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...

Legal but Corrosive: Trump’s Plan to Withdraw the U.S. From Several International Organizations

Feb 12, 2026 | Boston University

At the start of this calendar year, rumors started circulating in the White House that President Trump aims to withdraw the U.S. from 66 International Organizations. Many of...

The Illusion of Elections: How Authoritarian Power Undermines Democratic Legitimacy in Myanmar

Jan 10, 2026 | University of the Philippines, Diliman

Democracy is often framed as a straightforward process in which citizens elect their leaders and political authority reflects popular will. Yet the presence of elections...

Democratic Erosion in Czechia

Apr 27, 2022 | University of Georgia

Although the Czech Republic has a higher functioning democracy than most other Eastern European countries, it too has seen a gradual shift towards illiberalism. From 2006 to 2021, the Czech Republic...

Foreign Intervention in Building Democracies: Does It Set Them Up for Failure?

Apr 27, 2022 | University of Georgia

Time and time again, during times of conflict, we often see interventionist strategies employed by powerful democratic countries. These countries work under the guise of democratization, where they...

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...