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.

Fear Wins Votes: Trump’s Violations and Consistent Support

This blog evaluates how Donald Trump’s political success stems from his use of fear-based rhetoric and polarization, which reshape voter priorities, weaken democratic accountability, and allow violations of democratic norms to occur without consequence.

Prime Minister Viktor Orban of Hungary: A Prime Example of Authoritarian Populism

With elections in Hungary coming up this April, the country’s incumbent prime minister, Viktor Orban, is ramping up efforts to stay in power, resorting to authoritarian tactics to sway the vote in his favor once again. Orban and his Fidesz Party are facing a real...

Donald Trump Continues to Exemplify Every Autocratic Warning Sign in the Book

The recent launching of an air strike campaign by the United States and Israel against Iran has the international and domestic community alike holding their breath, and it only confirms long-held concerns about President Trump’s style of governing; he...

Epstein’s Files Are More Than Files, They Are A Signal Of Democratic Erosion

Mar 12, 2026 | University of Houston

In a June 2024 Fox News interview, then presidential candidate Donald Trump claimed that when in office, he would support the release of the full Epstein files. These files...

LEARNING RESOURCES, INC., ET AL. v. TRUMP(2026)

Mar 11, 2026 | University of Houston

LEARNING RESOURCES, INC., ET AL. v. TRUMP(2026) The Learning Resource Inc company decision started off as being something so small from a child toy company business...

Poland Shows How Democracy Can Bend, But Not Break

Feb 13, 2026 | Boston University

The people of Poland have witnessed democratic norms erode over the past decade, marked by the absence of credible courts, judicial collapse, and a lack of accountability. These actions were carried...

Ongoing Democratic Erosion in Brazil After Bolsonaro

Feb 13, 2026 | Boston University

Brazil’s democracy, as of recent years, has faced significant erosion as a result of former president Jair Bolsonaro’s actions as a semi-loyalist who frequently rejected political norms, two of...

The Deeper Implications of Trump’s Political Labeling

Feb 13, 2026 | Boston University

Most people who have been keeping up with American politics over the past few years are familiar with Donald Trump’s creative language for his opposition. He titled Joe Biden “Sleepy Joe”, Kamala...

Takaichi’s Era: Democracy on the Edge?

Feb 13, 2026 | Boston University

Japan has long been regarded as a consolidated parliamentary democracy since the post–World War II constitutional reforms, a status reaffirmed by its classification as a “liberal democracy” in the...

Orbán and the Courts: Why Hungary’s Democracy Is at Risk

Feb 13, 2026 | Boston University

Orbán and the Courts: Why Hungary’s Democracy Is at Risk Is Hungary’s Democracy Still Alive? If you’ve been following European politics, you might have seen news about Viktor Orbán and Budapest’s...

Democratic Backsliding in the 2025 Tanzanian Presidential Election

Feb 13, 2026 | Boston University

In the past year, Tanzania has been dealing with tensions surrounding their presidential election in October. There have been claims of election tampering, insurgency, and suppression of the...

Italy Through the Lens of Democratic Erosion

Feb 13, 2026 | Boston University

Are We Still Living in a WEIRD World? In the last decade, the world has witnessed a growing instability of democratic institutions in countries considered to be consolidated democracies–the...

Stealth Authoritarianism in El Salvador

Feb 13, 2026 | Boston University

In our assigned reading by Olán Varol, he describes his theory of “stealth authoritarianism” as a way that “the new generation of authoritarians cloak repressive measures under the mask of law,...

How The White House Takeover of the Press Pool Threatens Democracy

Feb 13, 2026 | Boston University

Since its creation in 1914, the White House Correspondents’ Association (WHCA) has managed and coordinated a rotating press pool that is allotted coverage to White House briefings. Under this...