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.

Young people are becoming increasingly desensitized to war, death, and violence…why is this happening?.

Young people of today’s world have seen quite a bit. From millions dying from COVID-19, to hundreds of school shootings, and global conflicts where civilian attacks and murders have become commonplace. That’s just to name a few of the ways that the upcoming generation...

The Threat of The Shadow Docket

The US Supreme Court has used the shadow docket, a process to issue emergency orders, incessantly in the last few years. Since the start of Trump’s second term, this expedited process has been used to grant the president more than 20 victories on issues such as deportation and government employee firings.

Syria is not “Stuck Between Systems.” Time is the system.

Understand why the “waiting game” isn’t the answer to political change.

Congress Party vs BJP

Apr 18, 2025 | Boston University

Members of the Congress Party have been charged with money laundering in connection to the National Herald case. Rahul and Sonia Gandhi, high-status figures of the Congress...

Trump vs The Judiciary: A Brief Spat or a Wider Issue?

Apr 18, 2025 | Boston University

In mid-March, Kilmar Abrego Garcia was deported from the United States under the Alien Enemies Act of 1798. This is despite the fact that Mr. Garcia was barred from being...

Democracy and the Right to Organize: Egyptian Prosecution of Human Rights Organizations through Case 173

Feb 4, 2022 | University of Chicago

On January 22nd, 2022, Egypt’s human rights issues made headlines when Biden refused $130 million in security assistance that had originally been promised to them, citing human rights concerns. This...

Evaluating the (un)Democratic Performance of Nigeria’s Muhammadu Buhari

Feb 4, 2022 | University of Chicago

When All Progressives Congress (APC) candidate Muhammadu Buhari defeated the incumbent Johnathan Goodluck from the People's Democratic Party (PDP) in the 2015 Nigerian election, many saw the country...

Patria y Vida: The Cuban People Take a Stand

Feb 4, 2022 | University of Chicago

2021 was a historic year across the world’s democratic institutions, and not for the best reasons. There were at least five successful coups in 2021 alone (more than in all five previous years...

Violence Against Journalists in Mexico: An Attack on Freedom of Press

Feb 4, 2022 | University of Chicago

This past month, four journalists have been killed in Mexico. Last year, at least seven journalists were killed, marking an unprecedented number of deaths of journalists and reporters. Mexico has...

AOC and the Met Gala: How Elected Officials Becoming Celebrities Undermines Their Offices

Feb 4, 2022 | University of Chicago

Shining in the flash of the paparazzis’ cameras, one would think that the woman posing was a seasoned celebrity. An actress, or perhaps a pop star. In reality she was the U.S....

Consequences of Filibuster Reform in the U.S.

Feb 3, 2022 | University of Chicago

The current debate over whether to reform the filibuster in the U.S. Senate has profound implications for the strength of American democracy. The filibuster, a procedural rule which allows any...

In Israel, Can Technology Prevent Democratic Erosion?

Feb 3, 2022 | University of Chicago

In Polyarchy: Participation and Opposition, Robert Dahl posits “three necessary conditions for a democracy” [1]. Underlying all three conditions is the availability of “alternative sources of...

How International Relations Affect Serbia

Jan 21, 2022 | Koç University

On 20 November 2021, the President of the Republic of Serbia, Alexander Vucic, gave an interview in Belgrade, where he discussed the most important issues affecting his country today. Asked how he...

Society’s “Demons”: How Anti-LGBTQ+ Framing Works in Poland

Jan 20, 2022 | National University for Political Science and Administrative Studies, Bucharest, Romania

In the photo: “LGBT-free zone” sticker in the front of the conservative magazine Gazeta Polska which included it in their weekly editions “Stigmatization of LGBTI people is a long-standing problem...