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.

The 2026 Midterms as an Institutional Test

Orbán Lost. But Did Democracy Win? Hungary’s Election and the Limits of Electoral Recovery

On April 12 2026 Viktor Orbán's sixteen-year grip on Hungary ended. This is when Péter Magyar's Tisza party won a landslide securing a two-thirds supermajority in parliament. The same threshold Orbán had used for years to rewrite the constitution in Fidesz's favor....

Democratic Erosion and the Far-Right in Post-Estallido Chile

A fundamental question haunts any serious analysis of Chile's recent political trajectory: did the democratic erosion now visibly accelerating under the far-right begin with the mass mobilizations of 2019, or did it come after? The answer requires resisting the...

Is Italy Undermining European Democracy?

Apr 20, 2026 | Suffolk University

Italy is no stranger to political upheaval. But today, many scholars and democratic organizations are asking the question: is Italy experiencing democratic backsliding?...

Living in Fear: How Cartels Erode Democracy in Mexico

Apr 20, 2026 | George Mason University

Do the social problems that we commonly experience in our daily lives really affect a country’s democracy, policies, and overall political system? The answer is yes. In now...

Controlling the Narrative and Weakening Democracy in Hungary

Nov 13, 2025 | University of Pittsburgh

In 2023, the Hungarian government passed the Defense of National Sovereignty Act, a law that grants the newly established Sovereignty Protection Office the authority to investigate individuals or...

Authoritarian Populism in Disguise: Orbán’s Anti-Worker ‘Pro-Worker’ Regime

Nov 13, 2025 | University of Pittsburgh

Intro In the last two years, Hungary has seen an influx of worker-led protests, even as Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán maintained tight control over politics and the media. From 2023 to...

When Democracy Erodes, Human Security Fails in Sudan

Nov 10, 2025 | Universitas Islam Indonesia

Human Security and Democratic Erosion in Sudan (2018 - 2023) Introduction As a high school student, I joined thousands of Sudanese youth in the streets of Wad Madani in December 2018. I became a...

Donald Trump’s NSPM-7 Follows Domestic and International Trends In Stealth Authoritarian Power Grabs

Nov 3, 2025 | University of Georgia

In late September, President Donald Trump followed his ad-hoc federal mobilizations of National Guard servicemembers and nationwide deployment of ICE officers with a directive to the FBI’s Joint...

How Bosnia’s Postwar Framework Made Dodik Inevitable

Nov 2, 2025 | University of Georgia

When Vladimir Putin met with Milorad Dodik at a diplomatic forum in Sochi on October 2, 2025, he greeted him as “President Dodik.” This moment drew attention because two weeks prior, after months of...

The Trump Administration’s Recent Attacks on First Amendment Rights May Mirror Viktor Orban’s Autocratic Ruling Style

Nov 1, 2025 | University of Georgia

When asked about Hungary’s leader, Viktor Orban, Donald Trump stated, “There’s nobody that’s better, smarter or a better leader than Viktor Orbán. He’s fantastic”. Considering the illiberal,...

Hungary’s Legal Coup: How Viktor Orbán is Rewriting Democracy in Slow Motion

Oct 31, 2025 | University of Georgia

Hungary's erosion of democracy is occurring in courts, parliament and the wording of new laws, not in protests and demonstrations. Viktor Orbán's Fidesz party has been creating institutions in...

The Fragility of Federal Agencies: Why the National Institutes of Health Is at Risk

Oct 31, 2025 | University of Georgia

“Make America Healthy Again,” a take on the 2020 and 2024 campaign slogan of President Donald Trump, has recently released a strategy titled “Make Our Children Healthy Again.” The initial MAHA...

Replacing Ballots with Bullets: How Shadow Operations are Crippling Democracy in Africa

Oct 31, 2025 | University of Georgia

Private military companies (PMCs) have long blurred the line between state power and profit, but few have done so as effectively—or destructively—as the Wagner Group. Central to Russia’s recent...