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.

Looking at Trump’s and Obama’s State of the Unions Through the Lens of Mutual Toleration

How do Trump and Obama compare to one another when we analyze their state of the union speeches based on the theory of mutual toleration?

Is Safeguarding American Voter Eligibility (SAVE) Actually Keeping Us Safe?

Voter fraud in the United States is almost nonexistent, with very little evidence suggesting that noncitizens are the ones committing it, if it does happen. Audits and research have repeatedly found only tiny numbers of such cases, often due to clerical errors rather...

Modern Gerrymandering and Its Damaging Effects on U.S. Electoral Democracy

Introduction Gerrymandering is the practice of drawing electoral maps to favor one political party over another. When redrawing maps, the party in power will use two strategies: packing and cracking. Packing is when a party tries to fit in as many of their likely...

Poland Shows How Democracy Can Bend, But Not Break

Feb 13, 2026 | Boston University

The people of Poland have witnessed democratic norms erode over the past decade, marked by the absence of credible courts, judicial collapse, and a lack of accountability....

Ongoing Democratic Erosion in Brazil After Bolsonaro

Feb 13, 2026 | Boston University

Brazil’s democracy, as of recent years, has faced significant erosion as a result of former president Jair Bolsonaro’s actions as a semi-loyalist who frequently rejected...

The Fear of Losing Family: Donald Trumps Controversial Immigration Policies

Feb 14, 2025 | Boston University

Image From: Chicago Council of Global Affairs Since he first ran for office in 2016, one of Donald Trump's biggest concerns was clear: illegal immigration. President Trump has won millions of votes...

The Restoration of Poland and the Desolation of the United States

Feb 14, 2025 | Boston University

From 2015 until 2023, Poland was under the process of democratic erosion; however, recently they reversed this backsliding as the PiS, Law and Justice Party, had ultimately been removed from power...

Threats to American Democracy

Feb 14, 2025 | Boston University

Since the 2024 election and the inauguration of Donald Trump (and dating back to the 2016 election), democracy in the United States, along with its democratic norms and practices that have...

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...