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.

Prime Minister Viktor Orban of Hungary: A Prime Example of Authoritarian Populism

With elections in Hungary coming up this April, the country’s incumbent prime minister, Viktor Orban, is ramping up efforts to stay in power, resorting to authoritarian tactics to sway the vote in his favor once again. Orban and his Fidesz Party are facing a real...

Donald Trump Continues to Exemplify Every Autocratic Warning Sign in the Book

The recent launching of an air strike campaign by the United States and Israel against Iran has the international and domestic community alike holding their breath, and it only confirms long-held concerns about President Trump’s style of governing; he...

Fear Over Freedom: ICE in Trump’s America

The Danger of Political Disinformation Within the United States

Nov 21, 2023 | University of Memphis

Political Disinformation is one of the greatest threats facing the United States today. It not only...

Here is One Turkey That Needs to be Saved This Thanksgiving

Nov 20, 2023 | University of Memphis

Recep Erdogan has just won his third consecutive term as Turkey's president, so what does this mean for Turkey's democracy? What was once a thriving example of a steady...

Gerrymandering Takes Part in Eroding Our Country’s Democracy

Mar 21, 2020 | Georgia State University

"Of all times to abandon the Court's duty to declare the law, this was not the one. The practices challenged in these cases imperil our system of government. Part of the Court's role in that system...

How Attacks on Press Freedom in Bulgaria Spell Trouble for Democracy

Mar 19, 2020 | American University

On October 6th, 2018, Bulgarian journalist Viktoria Marinova was found murdered in a park along the Danube. 30-year old Marinova had been a television journalist on Bulgarian channel TVN whose final...

Trumpism and Stealth Authoritarianism in Mexico?

Mar 18, 2020 | Georgia State University

When looking at Mexico's current president, Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, or AMLO for short, one may confuse him with our current president Donald Trump. Current president AMLO undermines...

Policy and Plagues: Warning Signals for Gay Poland

Mar 18, 2020 | American University

In How Democracies Die, Steven Levitsky and Daniel Ziblatt offer a list of warnings. Four red flags that signal when anti-democratic politicians’ behavior has become so dangerous that a bipartisan...

How the Trump Administration is Eroding American Democracy

Mar 17, 2020 | Georgia State University

America has long been thought of by much of the world, and certainly by Americans, as the highest example of liberal democracy, a state governed by its people with overriding emphasis on individual...

The Disappointment of George Weah

Mar 13, 2020 | American University

The 2017 Liberian Presidential election had all the trappings of a major step in the process of democratization, but instead opened a period of democratic decay and tyranny. Since the end of the...

Bernie Sanders: Modern Day Robin Hood

Mar 10, 2020 | Suffolk University

Recently, Bernie Sanders held a rally in the Boston Commons to promote his presidential campaign in which he addressed issues such as affordable housing, healthcare, and childcare. Yet how can the...

Feeling the Bern

Mar 6, 2020 | Suffolk University

Drawing crowds over thirteen thousand people, Bernie Sanders entertained a lot of people. This was very first experience at a rally for a presidential candidate and I will never forget it. I felt...

Are Americans okay with a lack of universal healthcare? The ones that are not are getting out and voting.

Mar 5, 2020 | Suffolk University

A lack of universal healthcare looks different to every American. For some, it means skipping doctor appointments routine check-ups. For others, it means ignoring medical help when its an urgency,...