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 are student blog posts written by student participants in the Democratic Erosion Course. These posts were not written by nor represent the views of the Democratic Erosion Consortium.

The Informational Middleman: A Hidden Literacy Crisis, Who Gets to Explain Democracy?

What if you can vote but can’t understand what you’re voting on? Imagine two citizens receiving identical governmental notices before preparing to cast their votes in an upcoming election. Both have the same legal right to vote, contact their representatives, and...

How Many Resignations are Too Many Resignations?: The Political Environment of the UK Leading to Keir Starmer Relinquishing his Premiership

There has been a lot of commotion in the last years about the instability of liberal democracies, and particularly established democracies which have made a considerable amount of people question their validity and efficacy. A particularly interesting example of this...

When Legal Authority May Undermine Democracy: The Overseas Voting Forms Controversy

In late August, the Trump Administration used emergency requests to alter the federal voting form used by overseas U.S. citizens, limiting how certain voters can request ballots. The changes include the elimination of a checkbox for U.S. citizens born abroad who have...

South Korea’s Democratic Institutions Held, But Will America’s?

Oct 9, 2026 | Boston University

South Korea’s political polarization led to democratic erosion, but its institutions were able to push back. Whether the United States could do the same is far less clear....

Rebuilding a Rigged Democracy: Why Restraint Isn’t Enough

Oct 8, 2026 | Boston University

On April 12, 2026, Viktor Orbán lost. After sixteen years in power, his Fidesz party was crushed by Péter Magyar’s Tisza party in the highest-turnout election Hungary has...

Redistricting Chaos: Executive Attempts to Suppress Missourian Voters

Oct 2, 2026 | Boston University

In the November 3rd general election, 1 in 4 Missourians will vote in a different district than in the August primaries. With last-minute rulings from state and national courts, voters are...

Can Politicians Hear Americans’ Disapproval Over the Hum of Data Centers?

Oct 2, 2026 | Boston University

In early September, an AI researcher at Anthropic resigned due to his belief that his leadership and colleagues were pursuing AI development in a dangerous and reckless manner. Following the growing...

Submarine Policy in an Era of Polarization

Oct 2, 2026 | Boston University

Introduction At a time when American politics experiences extreme partisan divide, one area of policy still looks surprisingly cooperative. On July 29th, 2026, the United States Navy announced $76.6...

Constitutional Hardball and the Politics of Mail Voting

Oct 2, 2026 | Boston University

Trump's March 2026 executive order on mail voting is best understood as constitutional hardball, in Levitsky and Ziblatt's sense, rather than as ordinary election-security policy. It is dangerous...

Tunisia’s Post-Arab Spring Decline: Courts as Tools of Democratic Erosion

Oct 2, 2026 | Boston University

For much of the decade following the Arab Spring, Tunisia was celebrated as the movement’s only lasting democratic success. While uprisings elsewhere produced civil war, renewed dictatorship, or...

India’s Opposition vs. the Election Commission

Oct 2, 2026 | Boston University

India's opposition parties say the country's elections are being rigged, challenging the election institute. Their members of parliament plan to march to the Election Commission, the agency that...

Can the Threat of Federal Agents at Polling Places Undermine Democratic Participation?

Oct 2, 2026 | Boston University

What is Happening? In the upcoming midterm elections taking place November 3, 2026, the Trump administration has faced growing questions regarding whether federal law enforcement agents, including...

Political Parties Increasing Dislike of Each Other in Contemporary America

Oct 2, 2026 | Boston University

In May, a survey put out by Pew Research Center found that 58% of Democrats and 59% of Republicans viewed the opposing party in a negative and unfavorable light. Additionally, 26% of Americans view...

The Republicans’ Midterm Campaign is about Legitimacy, Not Rules

Oct 2, 2026 | Boston University

Since early 2025, the Justice Department has filed 31 lawsuits seeking states’ voter data, in an effort to obtain voter rolls containing sensitive information about registered voters in their...