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.

The 2026 Midterms as an Institutional Test

Orbán Lost. But Did Democracy Win? Hungary’s Election and the Limits of Electoral Recovery

On April 12 2026 Viktor Orbán's sixteen-year grip on Hungary ended. This is when Péter Magyar's Tisza party won a landslide securing a two-thirds supermajority in parliament. The same threshold Orbán had used for years to rewrite the constitution in Fidesz's favor....

Democratic Erosion and the Far-Right in Post-Estallido Chile

A fundamental question haunts any serious analysis of Chile's recent political trajectory: did the democratic erosion now visibly accelerating under the far-right begin with the mass mobilizations of 2019, or did it come after? The answer requires resisting the...

Born Here, Belonging Nowhere: The Constitutional Crisis of Executive Order 14,160

Apr 30, 2026 | Tulane University, Universities

On January 20, 2025, President Donald J. Trump issued executive order No. 14,160 titled “Protecting the Meaning and Value of American Citizenship,” which declared that...

The Silver Lining of American Retreat: How U.S. Disengagement from NATO Could Forge a Stronger Europe

Apr 29, 2026 | Suffolk University

There is a peculiar irony at the heart of what is happening to NATO right now. The United States, the alliance’s founding architect and long-time guarantor, has spent the...

India’s Democratic Decline: Political Elites and Institutional Weakening

Apr 20, 2026 | George Mason University

These days, democratic consolidation has become increasingly difficult, and democracy itself is gradually declining around the world. In particular, it is no longer a rare situation for a country...

Inclusion vs. Liberalism: The Two Faces of Bolivian Democracy

Apr 20, 2026 | George Mason University, Universities

Introduction Did Bolivia's democracy advance or retreat? Answering this question requires not just looking at the election results but also understanding the two conflicting trends of institutional...

Peru’s Democracy Wasn’t Taken. It Was Given Away.

Apr 20, 2026 | George Mason University

The night he went after Congress, the courts, and the constitution all at once, most people backed him for it. That detail tends to stop people. It should. April 1992, Lima. A sitting president...

Would democracy survive from Stealth Authoritarianism?

Apr 20, 2026 | George Mason University

It’s a wolf! A wolf in sheep’s clothing! The wolf known as Stealth Authoritarianism has now evolved and is attempting to be the shepherd of sheep. Its ulterior motive is to become a shepherd and...

Democracy in Name, Fear in Reality: Mexico

Apr 20, 2026 | George Mason University, Universities

What if a country is called a democracy, but many people are too afraid to vote? Mexico is seen as a democratic country. It has elections, political parties and a constitution. But many people feel...

Thailand’s Hybrid Regime: Democracy Shaped by Military and Monarchy by Ashleigh Sodee

Apr 20, 2026 | George Mason University

Thailand’s political system is also shaped by the continued influence of the monarchy, particularly under King Maha Vajiralongkorn, which makes it distinct from many of its Southeast Asian...

Turkey Still Holds Elections, So How Does Erdoğan Make Use of Religiously Entangled State Power to Erode Democracy?

Apr 20, 2026 | George Mason University

Turkey still holds elections, yet democratic competition in the country has become increasingly constrained. Freedom House’s 2026 report rates Turkey 32/100 and classifies it as “Not Free,”...

The Quiet Erosion of Democracy : Why Israel’s Political Crisis Should Worry Us All

Apr 20, 2026 | George Mason University

The Quiet Erosion of Democracy : Why Israel’s Political Crisis Should Worry Us All GOVT133 Seungyun Lim A country can hold free elections and still slowly lose the quality that makes it truly...

Is Hungary Still a Democracy? More Than Just Elections

Apr 20, 2026 | George Mason University, Uncategorized

At first glance, a country that regularly holds elections may appear to function as a stable democracy. However, elections alone do not guarantee that democratic principles are being upheld....