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.

When Violence Breaks the Surface: The Kirk Incident as a Warning for American Democracy

By Stavros Ligris The shooting of Charlie Kirk during a university event in Utah this September has been described as shocking, tragic, and destabilizing. But it should also be understood as part of a larger pattern of democratic decline in the United States. What...

First 100 Days, More Like First 100 Hours: How Trump’s First 100 Days Played Out Against Trump’s Second 100 Hours

Indiana Senator Jim Banks, a staunch Trump ally, predicted that President Trump’s return to power would be characterized by “shock and awe.” In many ways, the events of President Trump’s first 100 hours in office during his second term have lived up to that promise....

History Repeats: Why Strong Global Defense is Key to Preventing Autocracy

A strong and consistent global defense by democratic nations is crucial to preventing the rise of autocratic regimes, as history shows—from the Cold War doctrines to the failed democratization of Afghanistan—that without committed follow-through and structural reform, authoritarian forces will exploit weaknesses and reclaim power.

The Brandmauer and its Recent Deterioration

Apr 17, 2025 |

Firewalls and regional equivalents to it have recently come under heavy strain as nationalist far-right parties have found themselves relative electoral success in the past...

Populism and Authoritarianism in Venezuela

Apr 17, 2025 |

Cyrus Sadr Democratic Erosion Professor Steven Rosenzweig 4/9/25 Populism and Authoritarianism in Venezuela The 2024 election of Nicolas Maduro is widely...

The 2023 Elections in Zimbabwe and Growing Authoritarianism

Oct 30, 2023 |

The August 2023 presidential election in Zimbabwe resulted in the reelection of the current ZANU-PF President, Emmerson Mnangagwa. This will be his second and final five-year term. However, many...

How the Belt and Road Initiative is Spreading Authoritarianism

Oct 30, 2023 |

By Luciano Hoxhaj In 2013, President Xi Jinping of China launched the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), a project that has seen the development of Chinese physical and technological infrastructure...

Dying Democracy in Israel

Oct 30, 2023 |

***Note from the author: My post is meant to analyze constructively the state of democratic institutions in Israel and remark on how the current conflict affects this. It is not meant to give...

Speaker of the House and Cause for Concern

Oct 30, 2023 |

Mike Johnson was recently elected as the new speaker of the United States House of Representatives. Johnson is a supporter of former President Trump and had recently filed a lawsuit to overturn the...

Is Bangladesh an Exceptional Case of Democratic Backsliding?

Oct 30, 2023 |

The current regime of Bangladesh ruled by Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has been categorized as an authoritarian regime by the V-Dem Institute, a democracy research organization. According to the...

Malaysia’s Institutional, Socio-cultural, and Foreign Challenges to Democracy

Oct 29, 2023 |

The case of Malaysian politics is a fascinating subject. In 2023, V-Dem considered Malaysia an electoral autocracy, although the report also stated it appears to be currently facing an upward...

Georgia’s Gerrymandering, Legal Institutions, and Democratic Backsliding

Oct 29, 2023 |

A federal judge ruled that Georgia’s congressional and state legislative districts must be redrawn prior to the 2024 election. The report concluded that the Republican-drawn political maps, which...

Don’t Cry Wolf About Threats To Democracy

Oct 29, 2023 |

In the past few years, we’ve witnessed many serious threats to American democracy. Some that loom large include: the January 6 Capitol riot, President Trump’s “perfect phone call” to Georgia...

The Alienations of Muslims in the World’s Largest Democracy

Oct 23, 2023 |

India is the world's largest democracy; in fact, it recently gained the title of being the world's largest country by population, and fortunately such a nation happens to host a democratic system of...