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.

The Illusion of Elections: How Authoritarian Power Undermines Democratic Legitimacy in Myanmar

This blog examines how elections in Myanmar, stripped of genuine competition, political freedoms, and popular consent, have failed to protect democracy and instead become instruments of authoritarian rule.

Georgia’s Foreign Agents Law and Quiet Death of Democratic Accountability

Georgia’s 2024 foreign agents law uses the language of transparency to legally constrain civil society, tilt electoral competition towards the incumbent Georgian Dream Party, and accelerate democratic backsliding despite domestic and international opposition.

The Boiling Point of Election Violence: Democratic Erosion in Tanzania

Once hailed for its relative stability in an otherwise politically volatile East Africa, Tanzania has exploded into violence and political protest following the controversial reelection of President Samia Suluhu Hassan.

Recent Polish Elections signal a shift from populism potentially across Europe back to democracy.

Dec 3, 2023 | Salem State University

On October 15th, 2023, Poland held parliamentary elections. The rightwing populist Law and Justice Party (PiS) won 194 seats (35.38% of the vote), while the Civic Coalition...

Unraveling Russia’s Influence on Brazil’s Democracy: The Nova Resistência

Nov 24, 2023 | Northeastern University

In the landscape of global information manipulation, the New Resistance emerges as a significant player in the erosion of democracy. The New Resistance is a...

The Colorado Party and Stealth Authoritarianism: Today’s El Stronato

Oct 29, 2020 | Williams College

The Western media has been hyper-focused on the American presidential election, and rightfully so. American media outlets have much domestic material to discuss as polarization increases throughout...

The Liberal Dilemma

Oct 28, 2020 | Georgia State University

It has long been established that the two-party system is here to stay. A historical precedent, starting with the federalist debate, set the long reigning two-party system. With no shortage of...

The Resurrection of Mas as a Step Towards Democratic Stability in Bolivia

Oct 27, 2020 | University of Chicago

Last weekend, on October 18th, Luis Arce of the Movimiento al Socialismo (Mas) party won the Bolivian presidential election by a comfortable margin and Jeanine Anez, the evangelical leader of the...

Top of the Pops: The Populist Reality Show Star with the Lowest Approval

Oct 26, 2020 | Georgia State University

How can we classify the self-pitched-Playboy-Cover-model son of a wealthy, racist real estate developer as a populist when he is neither like the people he claims to represent nor does he enact...

Uprising in Belarus: Protesting Is a Universal Language

Oct 26, 2020 | Georgia State University

In 1966, just two short years before his life would be taken by the infuriated opposition, Martin Luther King, Jr. said in an interview, when asked about “Black Power,” that “a riot is the language...

The Mansfield Blue Wave

Oct 25, 2020 | Suffolk University

Democracy is at its most fragile during times of war, terrorism, and elections. The United States just happens to be at a crossroads of all three. With constant war being funded in the Middle East...

Misperception Is Reality: The Psychology of Political Polarization in the United States

Oct 25, 2020 | Suffolk University

Americans are not as polarized as we think we are. A new report from Beyond Conflict, a non-profit that leverages research from cognitive and behavioral science to address issues of conflict...

BLM Insight from Co-Founder Opal Tometi: How A Hashtag Led To A Worldwide Race Movement

Oct 25, 2020 | Suffolk University

One of the brains behind the Black Lives Matter movement and Human rights activist Opal Tometi was invited by NYU for a webinar hosted by professors Pamela Newkirk and Deborah Wills on October 7,...

Exploring the Structural Causes Behind Hungary’s Backslide from Democracy

Oct 25, 2020 | University of Chicago

Earlier in 2020, while the pandemic dominated news headlines across the world, the NGO freedom house pushed out a silent but stunning report. One deeply alarming takeaway - there are now less...