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.

Propaganda, The Iran War, and Democratic Erosion

The U.S. response to the Iran conflict demonstrates how propaganda and narrative manipulation transform foreign policy into a domestic political tool, contributing to democratic erosion by undermining informed citizenship, weakening accountability, and expanding...
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Israel’s Nation-State Law and the Fight Over Belonging

Israel’s Nation-State Law and the Fight Over Belonging Every democracy is based on a single premise: equality. That is why Israel’s 2018 Nation-State Law matters. In July 2018, the Israeli Knesset passed Basic Law: Israel as the Nation-State of the Jewish People, also...
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Can a Democracy Die With 90% Approval?

Just as we overlook the origins of our daily coffee, failing to question the institutional costs of immediate safety and efficiency allows authoritarianism to legally dismantle democracy until it becomes an unquestioned “norm.”

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Hungary’s Opportunity

Apr 17, 2026 |

Under the leadership of former Prime Minister Viktor Orbán and the Fidesz party, Hungary faced years of gradual erosion of its democracy. By rewriting the constitution, a power granted by a ⅔...

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