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.

How the Supreme Court’s Immunity Ruling Impacts American Democracy

In July 2024, the Supreme Court of the United States issued a landmark decision granting presidents broad immunity from prosecution for actions taken while in office. In Trump v. United States (2024), the court stated that its decision was solely for clarification of...

El Salvador: Trading Checks and Balances for Saftey

Resistances to Democratic Backsliding in Indonesia

Indonesia has experienced continuous democratic backsliding since 2017. Despite pervasive executive aggrandizement and other continuing challenges, domestic actors have worked from above and below to resist democratic erosion. This post focuses on student movements,...

The Rise of Right-Wing Populism in Former Satellite States

Feb 12, 2025 | Boston University

Former Soviet satellite states that were once poster children for democratization following the decline of European communism have been making drastic pivots towards...

The 2025 Belarus Presidential Election: Another Rigged Vote Under Lukashenko

Feb 12, 2025 | Boston University

On January 26, 2025, Belarus once again went through the steps of a presidential election, but the outcome was never in doubt. According to The Guardian, Alexander...

Are We Out of the Woods Yet?

Nov 23, 2020 | Northeastern University

While President Trump has been defeated, populism still poses a potent threat to our democracy. Trump is a right-wing populist. Müller defines populism as “a way of perceiving the political world...

Polarization Is Killing Democracy in the United States, Although There Is Hope

Nov 23, 2020 | Northeastern University

On November 7th 2020, Joe Biden was declared 46th president of the United States. The election saw a record turnout rate of over 65%, amounting to over 160 million Americans. In the hours that...

QAnon and America’s Problem with Polarization and Disinformation

Nov 23, 2020 | Northeastern University

Signs from a Trump Rally; photo by Al Drago of the New York Times In early December of 2016, a gunman opened fire in a D.C. restaurant, under the belief that children were being held in its basement...

Peru’s Last Chance at Democracy

Nov 23, 2020 | Suffolk University

With three presidents in one week, and a history of political corruption, can Peru’s fragile democracy stay afloat? In a recent unfolding of events, Peru’s citizens have taken to the streets in...

Chileans Protest for a New Constitution

Nov 23, 2020 | Northeastern University

From the Occupy Wall Street movement in the United States to the Ni Una Menos collective based in Argentina, protests against neoliberal policies and states have increased in the past decades. As...

Authoritarianism and Donald Trump

Nov 23, 2020 | Northeastern University

President of China, Xi Jinping, in a recent speech to the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum (APEC), announced that China plans on opening a “super-sized” economy. The APEC forum also includes...

Court-Packing: Proposals to Erode Constitutional Order and Endanger U.S. Democracy

Nov 23, 2020 | Georgia State University

The idea of court packing insinuates that democratic erosion is underway. Courts often operate as guardrails to democracy but once they are overtaken by anti-system parties, they serve as effective...

Symptomatic: Argentina Is Infected With Threats to Its Democracy

Nov 23, 2020 | Suffolk University

The stability of Argentinian democracy is under threat. Multiple precursors to democratic erosion are present, including ongoing threats to both vertical and horizontal accountability exemplified by...

Ways of Discussing Politics

Nov 23, 2020 | Suffolk University

Are there better ways to engage in politics? How did the United States respond to the results of the 2020 Presidential Election? In this blog post, I talk about the importance of discussing politics...