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.

Hungary: A Case Study of Democratic Backsliding in the European Union

Hungary’s gradual democratic backsliding under Viktor Orbán demonstrates how legal reforms, centralized executive power, and weakened institutional checks can erode democracy from within, turning a once-promising post-communist transition into a partially free, delegative system

How Pakistans Government has Backslided Further since Imran Khan’s arrest

Democratic erosion is a gradual process that has been an ongoing process in Pakistan. While the country still holds elections and operates under the 1973 constitution, the quality of the democracy has weakened especially since Imran Khan, the former prime minister,...

Tunisia: A Case Study of Democratic Backsliding and the Impetus call for Civil Democracy

Since the demand for democracy emerged during the Arab Spring across many middle eastern countries, the origin country Tunisia have been countlessly facing many challenges in their struggle against authoritarian resurgence. What factors have contributed to...

Indefinite Term Limits: How Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele is Further Entrenching His Power

Dec 10, 2025 | University of Pittsburgh

On July 31st, 2025, El Salvador’s Legislative Assembly passed a new constitutional amendment 57 to three votes to allow the current president, Nayib Bukele, to run for a...

A 50-Year Sentence for Facebook Posts: The Implications of Section 112

Dec 9, 2025 | University of Pittsburgh

In January 2025, a 30-year-old man from Chiang Rai, Thailand, Mongkol Thirakot, was sentenced to 50 years in prison after being accused of posting 27 Facebook posts related...

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 Lukashenko collected 87.6% of the...

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 presidency in 2016 pivoted...

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 around extremism(s) attaches...

2024 Jordanian Parliamentary Elections: Rise of Loyalist Parties Under New Political Party Law

Feb 3, 2025 | Sabanci University

Jordanian parliamentary elections were held on 10 September 2024 following King Abdullah II’s decision to dissolve the parliament on 25 July 2024. After a long durée, these elections became a...

The Creche Controversy in Turkey

Feb 3, 2025 | Sabanci University

Turkey has been governed under a competitive authoritarian regime for almost a decade. The incumbent Justice and Development Party (AKP) has held power for the last 22 years, with the past decade...

Between Tutelary Democracy and Populism: 2022-2023 Pakistani Political Crisis and 2024 General Election

Feb 1, 2025 | Sabanci University

The portrait of Imran Khan, carried by the supporters of the PTI. [Shahzaib Akber/EPA] Background Pakistan, along with Turkey (until the 2010s) and Thailand, is often viewed as one of the textbook...

Donald Trump, An American Demagogue

Jan 28, 2025 | Northeastern University

Throughout our nation's history, only one president could claim the unique honor of having been elected to the presidency twice in nonconsecutive terms. Grover Cleavland, when in 1893 he made due on...

Fighting Fake News: Lessons from the World’s Top Target

Dec 15, 2024 | Brown University

2018 was a year of awakening in Taiwan. Two high-profile events threw the consequences of fake news into relief. First, Su Chii-cherng, the envoy to Osaka for the Taipei Economic and Cultural...

Fighting Fake News: Lessons from the World’s Top Target

Dec 15, 2024 | Brown University

2018 was a year of awakening in Taiwan. Two high-profile events threw the consequences of fake news into relief. First, Su Chii-cherng, the envoy to Osaka for the Taipei Economic and Cultural...