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.

Presidential Crisis in Guatemala: The Challenges and Resilience of Democracy

Guatemalan anti-corruption reformer Bernardo Arévalo’s rise to power and election in 2023 brought political blowback from the incumbent power bloc, threatening democratic norms and only being curtailed through widespread international pressure and citizen-led protests.

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El Salvador: Nayib Bukele’s Stealth Authoritarian Tactics

How the popularity of Bukele’s war on gangs has emboldened him to quietly dismantle checks on power through specific stealth authoritarian tactics to further erode democratic systems.

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El Salvador Chose Bukele, Not Democracy

Constitutional reforms enacted by El Salvadors New Ideas party provide for the consolidation of power and continued rule of President Nayib Bukele.

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DOJ Terminations

Feb 14, 2025 |

Recently, The White House Terminated multiple U.S. attorneys within the Justice Department, which in itself can be seen as executive aggrandizement considering The White House is typically not...

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