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.

Arresting Opposition and Squashing Protests: Democratic Backsliding in Turkey Under Erdoğan

Turkey has been inching towards autocracy under Erdoğan and the AKP for the last 22 years.

2025 Romanian Elections: An Election Redo and a Barred Candidate

Only two weeks out from Presidential Elections, Romanian voters face a tough decision in deciding on the next leader of their country. The latest opinion polls show that nearly 40% of voters are still undecided on who to vote for. After all, most voters already cast...

Why Protecting American Democracy Means Coming Together In Protest

In the lead up to the 2020 presidential election, the Democratic Erosion Consortium's very own professors Robert Blair and Steven Rosenzweig wrote an article in The Boston Globe urging readers to “Get ready to protest like democracy depends on it.” The article was in...

The Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam Threatens Egypt’s Economy – From Backsliding to Backsliding

Jun 9, 2022 | University of California, San Diego

Construction of the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam History of the Nile River For decades Egypt and Ethiopia have been in conflict over the Nile river. With the Nile river...

How Did Argentina Implement LGBTQ Rights by Renewing the Legitimacy Frames of the Social Movements?

Jun 9, 2022 | University of California, San Diego

In June 2021, Argentina passed a new bill setting a 1% quota for transgender people working in the public sector. As a late-comer democracy, Argentina was the first country...

Better Lines, Better Democracy. By Aidan Calvelli @ Brown University

Oct 9, 2017 | Brown University

It’s no bold claim to say that the United States is a democracy. Our Constitution, one of the earliest iterations of representative government and the model for hundreds more worldwide, formalized...

Does Spain’s Response to Catalonia Serve as Evidence of Democratic Breakdown?

Oct 8, 2017 | Boston University

On October 1, Spain responded to what they deemed an illegal referendum by employing police forces to stop individuals in the region of Catalonia from voting for or against independence from Spain....

The Rise of Stealth Authoritarianism in Cambodia By Michaela Kollin At Boston University

Oct 8, 2017 | Boston University

Stealth Authoritarianism in Cambodia Overt authoritarianism has become extremely costly, prompting trade sanctions and other international punishments, according to scholars such as Varol. In order...

When Corruption is not Enough: Legitimacy and the Case of South Africa. by Micah Rosen @ Brown University

Oct 4, 2017 | Brown University

In 1994, South Africa broke a wicked spell of white control, saying its last goodbye to a horrifically undemocratic apartheid political system. But champions of democracy must be careful to turn the...

Facts Matter: Fighting Populism in a Post-Truth World. by Matthew Jarrell @ Brown University

Oct 3, 2017 | Brown University

The goal of any scientific inquiry is ostensibly to find or at least approximate some sort of truth. When we examine a phenomenon in the world, we strive to make statements or posit theories about...

Standing, Kneeling, and Absence: Is Democracy Backsliding? by: Zach Witkin @ Brown University

Oct 2, 2017 | Brown University

Following the election of Donald Trump, many of those who oppose him were, and still are, concerned about the future of democracy. The populist minded leader uses, and keeps using, his platform as a...

Campaign Finance as Stealth Authoritarianism by Rachel Bennetts @ Boston University

Oct 2, 2017 | Boston University

In his essay “Stealth Authoritarianism”, Ozan Varol argues that leaders can maintain the facade of democratic values and institutions, while really backsliding towards authoritarianism. One...

Free speech has taken a knee, but Trump doesn’t really want it to stand tall. By Gianpaulo Pons at Boston University.

Sep 28, 2017 | Boston University

Free speech, in any form of expression, has been a heavily contested topic this weekend in regards to the National Football League (NFL). It began at a rally on Friday, September 22 when President...

Authoritarian practices of Donald Trump and the Republican Party. By Alexander Henshaw-Greene at Boston University.

Sep 27, 2017 | Boston University

Stealth Authoritarianism, as expressed by Ozan Varol, refers to regime practices that make a country less democratic without outright violating laws or repressing opposition. Varol writes that...