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 Threat of The Shadow Docket

The US Supreme Court has used the shadow docket, a process to issue emergency orders, incessantly in the last few years. Since the start of Trump’s second term, this expedited process has been used to grant the president more than 20 victories on issues such as deportation and government employee firings.

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Syria is not “Stuck Between Systems.” Time is the system.

Understand why the “waiting game” isn’t the answer to political change.

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Democratic erosion in Ecuador

Second Blog post  On March 6, 2026, Ecuador’s electoral courts ordered the suspension of the country's largest left leaning opposition party, Revolucion Ciudadana (Citizen’s revolution). The party, recognized as the primary opposition of Noboa's right-leaning National...
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Suspicions of Speeches

Dec 8, 2023 |

Speeches are a political tool commonly used worldwide, but when they are used in a manner that distinctively promotes one's agenda and avoids accountability, it becomes weaponized communication. The...

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