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 are student blog posts written by student participants in the Democratic Erosion Course. These posts were not written by nor represent the views of the Democratic Erosion Consortium.

South Africa Has Democracy, but is It Working as Well as It Looks?

When I first chose South Africa for this project, I expected its democracy to be weaker than it actually is. I knew South Africa was a developing country with various economic problems and social problems, so I did not expect to find so many democratic features...

Trump vs. Media: The Never Ending Crusade

In advanced liberal democracies such as the United States, democratic erosion does not come in one fell swoop. Often, norms, checks and balances, and foundational features of democracy are gradually chipped away at as to lessen resistance, comparable to a frog being...

Donald Trump’s Trade Wars and Their Implications on US Vertical Accountability

Just recently Donald Trump visited Dayton, Ohio, a region which is defined by the prevalence of their manufacturing sector, and which has seen negative impacts from ever increasing US reliance on manufactured imports. As a result of the blowbacks from increased...

Buying Power: Oligarchy and Clientelism in Georgia

Dec 15, 2025 | University of Pittsburgh

In 2003, Georgia had a democratic breakthrough. The Rose Revolution ousted the remnants of the state socialist regime and transitioned Georgia into a burgeoning democracy....

TUNISIA’S AUTHORITARIAN TURN: How President Kais Saied Is Dismantling the Arab Spring’s Only Democracy

Dec 12, 2025 | Georgia State University Perimeter College

When Tunisia's citizens overthrew their dictator in 2011, the world hailed Tunisia's emergence from this uprising as the only country to become a true democracy. For several...

Pandemics and Authoritarianism: The Dangers of Covid-19 Surveillance in Russia

Feb 4, 2022 | University of Chicago

The Russian government has implemented extensive surveillance measures that, they say, will help combat Covid-19. The measures include the installation of 178,000 facial-recognition cameras in...

Viktor Orbán’s Latest Erosion of Democracy: Rhetorical Advances Towards Autocracy

Feb 4, 2022 | University of Chicago

Many political scientists assert that Prime Minister of Hungary Viktor Orbán is an autocrat and point to Hungary as a prime example of democratic erosion. Orbán’s article “Samizdat 16” published on...

Checks and Balances & Redistricting Norms in Alabama

Feb 4, 2022 | University of Chicago

On January 24, 2022, three federal judges struck down a newly redistricted Alabama map in a case named Singleton v. Merrill. Specifically, the judges — two of which were appointed by former...

Stephen Breyer, Merrick Garland, and Amy Coney Barrett: Democratic Erosion and the SCOTUS

Feb 4, 2022 | University of Chicago

With Justice Stephen Breyer’s recent announcement of his planned retirement, conversations concerning who Joe Biden will appoint to the Supreme Court are abound. Nevertheless, the United States has...

Ballot Drop Boxes: Harbinger of Doom or Torch of Democracy?

Feb 4, 2022 | University of Chicago

Partisan rancor over voting methods threatens the American public’s trust in the legitimacy of elections. Ballot drop boxes, a campaign issue in Georgia's Republican primary elections for the...

Seizure of Voting Machines: How Far Will Executive Reach Extend?

Feb 4, 2022 | University of Chicago

After widespread claims of voter fraud in the 2020 election, recent news reveals that former President Donald J. Trump was directly involved in the development of plans to seize control of voting...

Autocracy and Imprisonment: Why Humanitarian Intervention Is Cuba’s Only Hope

Feb 4, 2022 | University of Chicago

In Ozan Varol’s Stealth Authoritarianism, one of the main conditions of authoritarianism is “rampant” corruption as well as “abuse of state resources” [1]. Regime change is deemed possible through...

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...