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.

What a shrunken Congress means for democracy in America

Congress has shirked its constitutional duty to stand up to the presidency. This has dire consequences for our democracy.

Where are our Leaders of ’16? The Need for a New Sovereign Republic

Is the UK eroding Northern Irelands democracy?

The Rise of Independent Voters: A Crisis of Representation in American Democracy

The detailing of shifting voting patterns in American households.

The Democratic Breakdown of Benin: Extremist Groups, Counterterrorism, and Executive Stealth Authoritarianism

Feb 12, 2026 | Boston University, Uncategorized

Sub-Saharan Africa is largely autocratic, with only about 10% of the region considered to be democratic. Benin, one of the only five democracies, is now sliding down a path...

How President Trump is initiating Democratic backsliding to assert his dominance

Feb 12, 2026 | Boston University

Recently, the United States, under the guidance and control of President Trump’s administration, is at risk of a threat to democracy as he exercises abusive executive...

Trump’s Challenging of the 14th Amendment: The Question of Birthright Citizenship

Feb 13, 2025 | Boston University

In the mere three weeks following his inauguration, President Donald Trump has ushered in a range of feelings across the nation regarding, what many may consider drastic, policy changes he has...

Blog Post 1

Feb 13, 2025 | Boston University

One reading I’d like to touch on is Chapter One of Levitsky and Ziblatt’s book, “How Democracies Die”. At first, I didn’t understand why the Aesop passage was included in the chapter: then I...

Georgia’s October 2024 Protests: Exposing the Dangers of Power Consolidation and Pro-Putin Corruption

Feb 13, 2025 | Boston University

In October 2024, mass protests erupted across the nation of Georgia following the release of highly contested election results that extended the power of the ruling Georgian Dream party....

First Amendment, First to Go: Trump’s Threats on a Free Press

Feb 13, 2025 | Boston University

President Trump has spent the first weeks of his administration enacting firm executive orders and appointing allies to key government positions. His swift actions have not gone unnoticed, given...

How to Blur the Lines: Euphemism and Erosion

Feb 13, 2025 | Boston University

Euphemism as defined by Merriam Webster “the substitution of an agreeable or inoffensive expression for one that may offend or suggest something unpleasant” is one of is not the most important too...

South Korean Martial Law in 2024: How Was Democracy Threatened?

Feb 13, 2025 | Boston University

On December 3, 2024, South Korean President Yoon Seok Yeol declared martial law, causing widespread panic throughout the nation. His declaration was made in order to protect the country from...

Threats to Democracy: Trump’s Appointment of Devin Nunes to Lead Intelligence Advisory Board

Feb 13, 2025 | Boston University

Although there have been numerous more significant, overarching levels of democratic erosion displayed by the Trump administration, examining the seemingly minor actions contributing to this...

Strange Bedfellows? Republican Endorsements of Kamala Harris and the Choices of Democratic Gatekeepers

Feb 13, 2025 | Boston University

In the United States’ hyper-polarized political environment, endorsements that cross party lines are relatively rare. Yet in 2024, several high-profile Republicans urged their own party members to...

Our First Line of Defense Against an American Authoritarian Regime is Crumbling: Education

Feb 13, 2025 | Boston University

In an effort to explain what some often feel is the unexplainable, political scientists have been devising metrics to analyze those voters who cast their ballots for authoritarian candidates, to...