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.

Benin: How Quickly Democracy Can Erode

This post examines how Benin’s democracy is rapidly eroding. President Talon has pushed the country off its right trajectory toward democratic values.

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When Elections Still Happen but Democracy Still Weakens: Turkey and the Crackdown on Ekrem İmamoğlu

A country does not have to cancel elections to weaken democracy. Sometimes leaders keep elections in place but make it harder for the opposition to compete fairly. I argue that Turkey's crackdown on Istanbul mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu shows this clearly. This is not just...
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The Combo of Asset Freezes and Deterioration of Democratic Norms relegates India’s Democratic Standing

India has been experiencing some forms of democratic backsliding, including, but not limited to, the loss of legitimacy as rival political parties don’t recognize each other as legitimate rivals, and the use of potentially intentional asset freezes experineced by the Indian National Congress Party exposes the incumbent Party under Prime Minister Modi to undermine the efforts made by his biggest rival, the Indian National Congress Party.

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