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.

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.

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...

Democratic Erosion in Political Satire: Exploring Americans’ Attitudes on Trump

Feb 14, 2025 | Boston University

For those concerned with U.S. democracy, it should suffice to say that this year has been off to a tumultuous start. With Donald Trump’s return to the White House,...

DOGE: How Elon is Dismantling Democracy

Feb 14, 2025 | Boston University

Over the course of Trump’s initial presidency and subsequent re-election, the United States has faced several threats to the resilience and stability of its democratic...

The Practical Power of the Secret Police in Democratic Erosion

Dec 13, 2020 | Sabanci University

Erosions of democracy under authoritarian rulers happen through numerous channels, with an important channel being institutions. Institutions structuralize governance according to the vision of the...

The Right Way of Combatting Democratic Erosion

Dec 13, 2020 | Sabanci University

DEVA | How to fight against a Populist. Deva is a newly formed organization lead by Ali Babacan. A well-experienced politician but also can be defined as a Technocrat who was formerly a Founding...

Moon Jae-In’s Attack on Democracy in South Korea

Dec 12, 2020 | Georgia State University, Georgia State University Perimeter College

Among experts, the notion of democratic backsliding sounds many alarms, given events taking place in South Korea’s current government. As the country gradually phases out the previous authoritarian...

The Fall of Democracy

Dec 11, 2020 | Georgia State University, Georgia State University Perimeter College

Democracy is an ideology that has long endured dating back since the B.C. era and even though it has existed for a long period of time not everyone has had the chance to experience democracy. In...

Democracy and Democratic Erosion in Brazil

Dec 11, 2020 | Georgia State University, Georgia State University Perimeter College

Although a Democracy is a well-structured form of government it’s not always the best system for all countries. Some countries...

Israel and the U.S.

Dec 11, 2020 | Georgia State University

For a long time now, the world has kept up with the democratic backsliding happening in Israel. Now the United States is following in their footsteps. Not only are the people of Israel in an ongoing...

Populism and Democratic Erosion of Italy

Dec 11, 2020 | Georgia State University Perimeter College

Populism is on the rise in many democratic countries globally including many European countries, such as Italy. Democracies of the Cold War era often went by the way of military coups. There are...

Threats from the Arctic

Dec 11, 2020 | Suffolk University

USCGC Polar Sea at Iceberg B-15A on Jan. 29, 2001 (wikimedia; NSF/Josh Landis )USCGC Polar Star backs and rams through dense ice off the Antarctic coast, Jan. 15, 2017. (U.S. Coast Guard photo by...

The Largest Democracy on the brink of becoming an Authoritarian regime: India’s Democratice Erosion.

Dec 11, 2020 | Georgia State University, Georgia State University Perimeter College

BY Cindy Martinez India currently has one of the largest populations, with over 1.3 billion citizens. The country has over 900 million registered voters, making India the largest democracy. However,...