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.

South Africa’s Democracy Isn’t Collapsing, It’s Quietly Eroding

South Africa’s democracy remains intact on paper, but corruption, governance failures, and declining public trust reveal how democratic erosion can quietly unfold when both political elites weaken institutions and citizens lose faith in democracy’s ability to deliver real change.

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Identity Survival Amongst Democratically Eroded Ethno-Religious Conflicts

When politics between religious governments turn into a contest for identity survival, democracy institutions stop being referees and start becoming weapons.

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Poland’s Democratic Decline Was Reversible

In 2015, Poland experienced a significant decrease in democracy. The Law and Justice Party (PiS), under Jaroslaw Kaczyński’s leadership, secured victories in both the presidential and parliamentary elections. In a matter of months, the government acted to diminish the...
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Democracy in Israel

Mar 9, 2026 |

Israel has long been viewed as “the only democracy in the Middle East,” yet the system of democracy on which the country runs might not be as free and just as it may seem. Israel is a parliamentary...

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