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.

Georgia’s Foreign Agents Law and Quiet Death of Democratic Accountability

Georgia’s 2024 foreign agents law uses the language of transparency to legally constrain civil society, tilt electoral competition towards the incumbent Georgian Dream Party, and accelerate democratic backsliding despite domestic and international opposition.

The Boiling Point of Election Violence: Democratic Erosion in Tanzania

Once hailed for its relative stability in an otherwise politically volatile East Africa, Tanzania has exploded into violence and political protest following the controversial reelection of President Samia Suluhu Hassan.

Amnesty for Atrocities: Peru’s Democratic Backsliding in the Shadow of Fujimori

Overview of Peru bill No. 366 of 2023, which provided amnesty to those who committed crimes against humanity during the country’s internal conflict between 1980 and 2000, and its context in the country’s ongoing democratic crisis.

“These Guys Are Weird”: How Overtly Anti-Democratic Ideology Made It From Online Forums to the Presidential Ticket

Oct 10, 2024 | Brown University

When now Democratic Vice Presidential Candidate Tim Walz spoke these titular words in reference to JD Vance, his opposition on the Republican ticket, the feeling resonated...

Loper Bright: How SCOTUS Undermined Democracy While America Looked The Other Way

Oct 10, 2024 | Brown University

For nearly a decade, much of the American public’s attention has been devoted to whether or not Donald Trump hopes to destroy American democracy. Opponents speak his...

Will the Upcoming Referendum Bring Meaningful Change to Belarus?

Feb 5, 2022 | University of Chicago

Alexander Lukashenko, the president of Belarus, is widely considered to be an authoritarian, earning him the unflattering title of “Europe’s last dictator.” Historically, elections have been neither...

The Electoral Rule-Bending Enabling Viktor Orbán’s Quest for a United Hungary

Feb 5, 2022 | University of Chicago

A few weeks ago, I received the letter pictured above from Hungarian prime minister Viktor Orbán in my mailbox. “Dear citizen! I write to you today because Hungary has a parliamentary election next...

Can Authoritarian Leaders Appropriate Democratic Interventions?

Feb 5, 2022 | University of Chicago

In 2020 Alexander Lukashenko “won” yet another term in what is widely considered an unfree election. Domestic protests quickly followed and were repressed in a harsh fashion by the regime....

Expanding Non-Citizen Voice via Vote

Feb 5, 2022 | University of Chicago

In the US, a significant population of the governed are not citizens in the eyes of the law. As repeatedly demonstrated during Trump era politics, this population of non-citizens are subjected to...

How Russian Presence in Venezuela Signals Democratic Erosion

Feb 5, 2022 | University of Chicago

In what seems to be a Cold-War era tactic, Russia has once again attempted to assert its dominance in the Western Hemisphere. On Jan. 13, a senior Russian official threatened the deployment of...

India: Shifting Political Party Loyalties of Politicians

Feb 5, 2022 | University of Chicago

In the United States, and many other western countries with the two-party system, the two major political parties operate on the basis of discernibly disparate political ideologies. However,...

Joe Biden Against the Filibuster and Voting Rights in the States

Feb 5, 2022 | University of Chicago

Last month, US President Joe Biden voiced his desire to do away with the filibuster rule in the Senate after his plans to push the Democrat Party’s Freedom to Vote and John Lewis Rights Advancement...

Wisconsin is a Masterclass in Stealth Authoritarianism

Feb 4, 2022 | University of Chicago

Following a worrying trend of anti-democratic actions taken by Wisconsin's Republican politicians, in November of 2021, U.S. Senator Ron Johnson called for a unilateral takeover of the state’s...

Saudi Arabia’s Courts Dilemma

Feb 4, 2022 | University of Chicago

In 2017, Princess Basmah bint Saud was arrested and subsequently detained by the Saudi Arabian government without charge or trial. She was recently released on January 6, 2022. Princess Basmah’s...