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.

A Never-Ending Crackdown: Daniel Noboa and Ecuador’s Potential Turn toward Authoritarianism

A Never-Ending Crackdown: Daniel Noboa and Ecuador's Potential Turn toward Authoritarianism In January 2024, masked gunmen stormed a live television broadcast in Guayaquil, Ecuador. A notorious gang lord had just vanished from his prison cell. The country was clearly...
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Trump has removed the National Science Foundation Board: Where does the overreach stop?

President Donald Trump notified the National Science Foundation’s Board that they were terminated effective immediately. However, this is not the Trump Administration’s first move in abruptly terminating independent institutions. This analysis of the removal explores the implications of this recent attack on independent institutions and academia.

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Born Here, Belonging Nowhere: The Constitutional Crisis of Executive Order 14,160

On January 20, 2025, President Donald J. Trump issued executive order No. 14,160 titled “Protecting the Meaning and Value of American Citizenship,” which declared that individuals born in the United States are not U.S citizens at birth if their parents lack sufficient...
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