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.

Why The Save Act Misses The Mark

The current administration's push for the Safeguard American Voter Eligibility (SAVE America) Act has become yet another polarizing topic between the left and the right. The SAVE America Act mandates voters to provide documentary proof of citizenship at the time of...

The Election That May Save Hungary’s Democracy

"Today we won because the Hungarian people didn't ask what their country could do for them, but what they could do for their country," -Péter Magyar Hungary just held its most consequential election in a generation, bringing an end to Viktor Orbán’s sixteen year reign...

Misinformation: The Role it Plays in the Persistence of the 2020 Election

The stability of democracy does not only rely on the security of elections but on the people’s trust of their legitimacy, and the aftermath of the 2020 United States presidential election shows how misinformation, elite influence, and repetition can erode that trust even when systems run properly.

Can a Democracy Die With 90% Approval?

Apr 20, 2026 | George Mason University

Every morning, we stop by a cafe and grab an iced Americano. We pay in a hurry, walk away in a hurry, and rarely stop to think about where that coffee came from or how it...

Is Mexico’s Democracy Slipping?

Apr 20, 2026 | George Mason University, Universities

Is Mexico’s Democracy Slipping? Yehyun Kim Why choose this case for study: Mexico is a fascinating and critical case for this study...

Democratic Erosion in Serbia and the Role of China’s Belt and Road Initiative

Apr 20, 2026 | George Mason University

The Novi Sad Canopy Collapse and Vučić’s response Can authoritarianism be spread transnationally, and if so, how does it affect democratic regimes in an era of...

The Stealthy Decay: Türkiye’s Democratic Erosion

Apr 19, 2026 | George Mason University

For much of the early twenty-first century, Türkiye was often considered a successful example of democratic consolidation in a Muslim-majority country. Political scientists such as Guillermo...

Before the Ballot Arrives: Trump’s Mail Voting Order and the Capture of Election Infrastructure

Apr 19, 2026 | Suffolk University

By March 24th, Donald Trump had voted by mail in a special election to fill a seat in Florida’s lower chamber. A week later, he signed an executive order directing the federal government to control...

Popularity Doesn’t Equal Democracy: A Look Into El Salvador’s Puzzle

Apr 19, 2026 | Boston University

Since President Nayib Bukele took office in 2019, El Salvador has undermined norms by changing the constitution, branches of government, and civil rights. While this directly threatens democracy,...

The BJP and Democracy in India

Apr 19, 2026 | Suffolk University

India’s history with democracy is long and often complex, especially when considering cultural factors and the size of the population as it has continued to increase over time. Under Modi and the...

When Guardrails Break: Turkey’s Terrifying Warning to the Democratic World

https://www.nccadvocacy.org/post/freedom-house-freedom-in-the-world-2025#:~:text=Freedom%20on%20the%20Net%202025,with%20sharpest%20decline%20in%20freedoms

Apr 19, 2026 | George Mason University, Universities

Democracy collapses not because of army tanks, but because of the division fostered by leadership and legitimate voting. Just over a decade ago, Turkey was praised as a successful model for the...

Is This The New Normal?

Apr 19, 2026 | Suffolk University

The President of The United States threatened genocide in the Middle East over a social media post. This is not an exaggeration nor a bizarre example of being hacked. The post is also not the first...

Why Elections Alone Do Not Make the Philippines Democratic

Apr 19, 2026 | George Mason University

Why Elections Alone Do Not Make the Philippines Democratic The Philippines holds elections every six years. All citizens have the right to vote, leaders are changed by the results of elections, and...

Birds of an Anti-Democratic Feather: What Trump’s Recent Shift in Alliances Reveals About the Frightening Future of Democracy

Apr 19, 2026 | Suffolk University

How fast can a democratic empire fall? If you ask Donald Trump, he will likely tell you that any answer is not fast enough. While the hallmarks of American democracy have been suffering greatly...