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.

Turkey’s Attempted 2016 Coup is a Symptom, Not a Cause of Democratic Erosion

On July 15, 2016, tanks and members of the Turkish military took to the streets of Istanbul in an unsuccessful attempt to overthrow the government. Soldiers invaded the headquarters of the ruling party while fighter jets bombed the capital city of Ankara. This coup...
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Democratic Erosion in Poland’s Judicial Reform

Poland is actively making corrupt efforts to silence those who muster the courage to speak out. In late 2019, the Polish Sejm approved a new law, the muzzle law, that is aimed towards taking complete governmental control of the judiciary’s structure and inner...
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Ignoring the Referee: Court Defiance and America’s Last Guardrail

Democracies don’t usually die in a single dramatic moment. They erode quietly and gradually, through a thousand small surrenders. But occasionally, a government does something so blunt that it forces everyone to pay attention. In early 2025, the Trump administration...
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Democracy in Decay:

May 8, 2024 |

Analyzing Democratic Backsliding in Narendra Modi’s India India is one of the world's most diverse and populated nations, with a revolutionary past and a promising future of endless development,...

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