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.

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.

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.

Civil Society vs. Populism: Israel’s Fight Over Democracy

“Democracy can collapse in silence, but in Israel it spilled into the streets.” On July 24, 2023, the Knesset passed what became known as the “reasonableness law,” eliminating the Supreme Court’s ability to strike down government actions on the grounds of...

Media Repression in Mexico: Why Mexico is the Deadliest Country to be a Journalist

Nov 22, 2023 | University of Memphis

Media repression threatens the civil liberties of the public and journalists. Freedom of the press is an important right that should be protected for anyone seeking a career...

Gridlock From Polarization: The Current State of the United States Government

Nov 22, 2023 | Northeastern University

What is gridlock and polarization? Political theorist, Jennifer McCoy, defines polarization as, “a process whereby the normal multiplicity of differences in a society...

How Mis/Disinformation Plagues Political Protests

Nov 21, 2020 | Suffolk University

Speaking as a teenager in the United States, it is safe to say I spend a lot of my time on social media platforms such as Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, etcetera. Currently, I have been seeing many...

Political Awareness Post-Election

Nov 21, 2020 | Suffolk University

Following election day, it is fair to say anxiety levels were high. As my friend and I spent hours glued to the television, we watched history write itself as voter turnout soared and swing states...

Young Voters and Division: What Should America Be Worrying About?

Nov 20, 2020 | Suffolk University

Young voters around the country have faced unprecedented circumstances in voting during a historic election. As many students continue their lives from behind a computer screen, Suffolk University...

Donald Trump: The Best Worst President in Democratic History

Nov 20, 2020 | Suffolk University

Throughout the past four years, the Trump Administration has been among the most confusing cases of revolving doors and executive disorder in the history of the United States. Before this, the...

Suburban White Women, Polarization, and Democratic Erosion

Nov 20, 2020 | University of Chicago

It has long been established that party polarization can contribute to democratic erosion. As Steven Levitsky and Deniel Ziblatt have pointed out, when extremists emerge as serious electoral...

The Political Dismay That Entangles Around the Nation’s Main Political Parties

Nov 19, 2020 | Suffolk University

The date of November 3rd, 2020 has been anticipated to come for over four years now due to the uprile and the call from the masses to urge citizens and voters to vote for what they believe to be a...

Connecting the Dots Between Duterte and Trump

Nov 19, 2020 | University of Chicago

Many countries have experienced leanings and developments suggesting democratic erosion, backsliding, and general shifts towards authoritarianism in the past decade, despite a global trend towards...

Is the Longevity of the American Two-Party System in Question?

Nov 19, 2020 | University of Chicago

What does it mean to be a Republican or Democrat in 2020? What did it mean in 2016, or in 2012? How has the meaning changed between the last three presidential elections? Debate over the two party...

Jammu and Kashmir as an Example of Extreme Populism in India

Nov 19, 2020 | University of Chicago

In 2014, Narendra Modi ran as the leader of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), and won the position of Prime Minister. The major theme of the BJP is Hindutva, which is an ideology that seeks to...