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.

The 2026 Midterms as an Institutional Test

Orbán Lost. But Did Democracy Win? Hungary’s Election and the Limits of Electoral Recovery

On April 12 2026 Viktor Orbán's sixteen-year grip on Hungary ended. This is when Péter Magyar's Tisza party won a landslide securing a two-thirds supermajority in parliament. The same threshold Orbán had used for years to rewrite the constitution in Fidesz's favor....

Democratic Erosion and the Far-Right in Post-Estallido Chile

A fundamental question haunts any serious analysis of Chile's recent political trajectory: did the democratic erosion now visibly accelerating under the far-right begin with the mass mobilizations of 2019, or did it come after? The answer requires resisting the...

Lawful Erosion: Is it Legal or No? Maybe…

Oct 20, 2025 | Arizona State University

Recent reports by The New York Times share a growing consensus within the judiciary of an impending crisis, with a lack of clarity creating foreseeable conflict and...

Pulling the Alarm: From Washington to Rome, Experts Warn of Rapid Democratic Decline

Oct 19, 2025 | Arizona State University

The United States has long upheld an international reputation as the sword and shield of democracy, championing liberal ideals and warning other nations against the rise of...

Viktor Orban and the Backsliding of Democracy in Europe

Apr 20, 2022 | Boston University

Early April saw populist leader Viktor Orban claim victory in the Hungarian election, with his right-wing party Fidesz winning a two-thirds majority in parliament. The defeat of the United for...

The Potential Effects of the Russo-Ukrainian War on World Democracy

Apr 20, 2022 | Boston University

In a recent article published by The Washington Post, the author lays out potential problems with an already problematic situation in Ukraine, pointing to a recent report from Freedom House, a...

Trump Is a Symptom, Not a Cause

Apr 19, 2022 | Rollins College

In his essay in the New York Times titled, Trump Poses a Test Democracy is Failing, Thomas B. Edsall, a professor of political journalism at Columbia, explains the changes to the American political...

Polarization Seen Through Partisanship, Status, and Geographical Location

Apr 19, 2022 | Rollins College

The trucker convoy made its way from Virginia's Interstate Highway into our state’s capital. Over the course of three weeks the convoy camped out, drove through, protested, and threw tailgate...

Europe’s Rotting Peace

Apr 19, 2022 | Boston University

Europe, host to much of the bloodiest fighting during both World Wars, has since experienced decades without a major conflict between member states. Some may point to a pax-Americana- a peace...

Regeme Type’s Effect on Human Rights, Especially Among Queer People

Apr 19, 2022 | University of Georgia

LGBT people have long been an extremely oppressed group in places all over the world. While many nations in the global north currently have stopped criminalizing the existence of queer people, and...

Partisan Divides Obstruct Justice Jackson’s Path to the Supreme Court

Apr 18, 2022 | Rollins College

Portrait of Ketanji Brown Jackson. On July 29, 1994, Justice Stephan Breyer was confirmed to the US Supreme court with an 87-to-9 vote. Nominated by former President Bill Clinton, Justice...

Corruption and Vested Interests: What No One is Saying About Ukraine

Apr 17, 2022 | University of Georgia

The war in Ukraine has awakened international cooperation unlike any event since World War II, as international organizations and states have come together to sanction Russia’s invasion. These...

Partisan Ingroup vs. Outgroup Tensions Boil Over

Apr 11, 2022 | SUNY-Binghamton

Ingroup vs. Outgroup Background Conflict has been stirred up in the United States for several years now. The political parties have an omnipresent hold on American life and real people are fighting...