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.

Can a Democracy Die With 90% Approval?

Just as we overlook the origins of our daily coffee, failing to question the institutional costs of immediate safety and efficiency allows authoritarianism to legally dismantle democracy until it becomes an unquestioned “norm.”

India’s Democratic Decline: Political Elites and Institutional Weakening

This article examine how India’s democratic erosion has been driven by the growing dominance of political elites.

Inclusion vs. Liberalism: The Two Faces of Bolivian Democracy

The paradox of inclusion : How Bolivias’ Democracy lost its balance

Netanyahu’s Not-So-Stealthy Authoritarianism

Feb 14, 2025 | Boston University

Long considered to be the “Middle East’s only democracy,” Israel as it stands today is a shell of the idealistic Jewish utopia its Zionist founder once envisioned. The...

Erosion of Taboos: The Dangers of the AfD Party

Feb 14, 2025 | Boston University

Less than two weeks away from the crucial elections in Germany, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán has endorsed Alice Weidel, the chancellor candidate of the far-right...

The Great Gatekeeping Dilemma: When Efforts to Save Democracy, Subvert Democracy

Apr 22, 2021 | Boston University

After only one month in office, Marjorie Taylor Greene inflamed tensions between Republicans and Democrats. Greene is a new Republican to the House of Representatives, elected in 2020 to represent...

Greed and Greenbacks: How the Ostentatiously Rich Puppeteer American Democracy

Apr 21, 2021 | Rollins College

According to an article published by the New York Times, a dozen megadonors and their spouses contributed a combined $3.4 billion to federal candidates and political groups. This means that 12...

A Response to Danae Gaytan’s Article “Increasing ‘Voter Security’ Increases Impediments to Voting in the United States”

Apr 21, 2021 | Rollins College

Danae Gaytan recently wrote an article discussing the agenda that the republican party has to increase impediments to voting. After a contentious 2020 election and an eventual Joe Biden victory, the...

Niger: Democratizing from Blatant to Stealth Authoritarianism

Apr 21, 2021 | Arizona State University

Niger’s recent 2020 elections has been labeled an important period of democratization: securing its first transition of power between democratically elected leaders (Balima, 2021). This transition...

Democratic Erosion and the Case of Ethiopia

Apr 21, 2021 | Georgia State University

Ethiopia, a country located in the Horn of Africa, has garnered much attention due to its strategic position, its large population, and its role as a security provider within the region. When Abiy...

The 2022 Election Results Will Be a Referendum on American Democracy

Apr 21, 2021 | Boston University

On January 6th, 2021, Democrats won control of the White House, Senate, and House of Representatives, all while the Capital Building was laid under siege. Those who took part in the insurrection...

Weaponizing Anti-LGBTQ Bias: The Authoritarian’s Approach to Dismantling a Democracy

Apr 20, 2021 | American University

Piotr Grabarczyk and his boyfriend, Kamil Pawlik, arrive in Barcelona after fleeing their homeland of Poland due to intensifying anti-LGBTQ violence incited by the rhetoric of far-right president...

Idriss Deby Poised to Serve a Sixth Term

Apr 20, 2021 | American University

Chad is a country that relatively obscure to those who seldom follow African politics. A google search of Chad will produce the TV series ‘’Chad’’. However, Chad is in a very strategic location in...

Will Democracy in Myanmar Be Restored? Not Anytime Soon

Apr 20, 2021 | Boston University

On February 1, 2021, Myanmar’s military seized power and declared a one-year state of emergency after the National League for Democracy (NLD) won a landslide victory. The military backed the...