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.

When Will It End? Stealth Authoritarianism over Female Reproductive Rights

Comparing the modern day struggles of democracy against reproductive rights to stealth authoritarianism.

Democracy Dying by Law : A Case study of Poland’s Under PiS Era

Still water runs deep. Have you ever heard of this phrase? It means that the surface may look calm, but there is some powerful force moving underneath. What if this was happening in real life? That force has a name: stealth authoritarianism. That force wears a mask...

The New Nepal: A Model or An Outlier?

Recent uprisings in Nepal, Bangladesh, and Madagascar (just to name a few) have highlighted younger generations’ demands for anticorruption and better political representation. Specifically, the 2025 uprising in Nepal illustrates GenZ’s potential for...

Pushing out the Opposition: How President Trump is Unraveling the Democratic System from Within

Feb 11, 2025 | Boston University

On Monday, January 25th, President Trump was sworn into office for the second time, and he has been very busy since then. His controversial candidacy and, ultimately, his...

Democratic Erosion in India: How Narendra Modi Makes Use of Offensive Populism

Feb 5, 2025 | Sabanci University

Recently party politics agenda has been occupied by the debates of rising right-wing extremism, challenging and changing the status quo in many countries. The discussion...

Transactional Politics: The Case for Getting Stuff Done

Nov 18, 2020 | University of Chicago

The 116th Congress has passed just 193 bills into law. While Congress still has a few months left in its current term, these numbers pale in comparison to the numbers of the past. Congress has...

The Purpose of an Independent Media in Democracy and the Loss of Credibility

Nov 17, 2020 | University of Chicago

On October 5, President Trump gave a news conference on the state of the recent election. At that time, Biden had been leading in key states and it appeared that his victory was imminent. However,...

Lessons in Democratic Erosion: The Case of India

Nov 17, 2020 | University of Chicago

Democracy in India is certainly at risk, if not already subverted, a demise that has been turbocharged under Prime Minister Narendra Modi. That such a state of affairs is unfolding in India is...

The Men Behind Trump: The Threat to American Democracy Isn’t Over Yet

Nov 17, 2020 | University of Chicago

Last week, President Donald Trump was voted out of office by an American populace ready to replace him. This rightly seems like a signal that the majority of Americans are ready to move past Trump’s...

Ivory Coast Election Crisis

Nov 17, 2020 | Northeastern University

Elements of Ivory Coast’s tumultuous political past following its autonomy from France have threatened the nation’s attempts at democracy yet again. Ivory Coast secured its independence in 1960, and...

Populism, Democrat Strategy, and the Definition of Insanity

Nov 17, 2020 | University of Chicago

As the 2020 election winds down and the Democratic Party has, by all reputable accounts, been confirmed as the victor, Op-Eds across the internet have been released mourning the death of the...

A Certain Majority

Nov 17, 2020 | University of Chicago

One of the specific criteria of populist leaders according to Jan-Werner Müller is antipluralism. He writes, “[Populists] claim that they and they alone represent the people.” [1] Instead of...

Why Unpopular Politicians Win Elections: Lessons from Kentucky

Nov 17, 2020 | University of Chicago

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) is one of the least popular politicians in the nation— and that’s not just a matter of opinion. According to a 2019 Morning Consult survey, McConnell...

Donald the Lame-Duck President

Nov 17, 2020 | University of Chicago

The Donald is officially a lame duck. That’s all folks! Or is it…. On November 9th, not even one week after the general election that eventually quashed his chances of a second term, the president...