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.

Poland’s Democratic Decline Was Reversible

In 2015, Poland experienced a significant decrease in democracy. The Law and Justice Party (PiS), under Jaroslaw Kaczyński’s leadership, secured victories in both the presidential and parliamentary elections. In a matter of months, the government acted to diminish the...

When Election Results Take Too Long: What Happened in Peru

Elections are supposed to provide clarity. They tell citizens who won, who lost, and what comes next. But in Peru, the recent election did the opposite. Instead of clear results, the country faced delays, protests, and growing accusations of fraud. Thousands of people...

Democratic erosion in Ecuador

Second Blog post  On March 6, 2026, Ecuador’s electoral courts ordered the suspension of the country's largest left leaning opposition party, Revolucion Ciudadana (Citizen’s revolution). The party,...

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