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.

Identity Survival Amongst Democratically Eroded Ethno-Religious Conflicts

When politics between religious governments turn into a contest for identity survival, democracy institutions stop being referees and start becoming weapons.

Poland’s Democratic Decline Was Reversible

In 2015, Poland experienced a significant decrease in democracy. The Law and Justice Party (PiS), under Jaroslaw Kaczyński’s leadership, secured victories in both the presidential and parliamentary elections. In a matter of months, the government acted to diminish the...

Selective Support of the Courts: How Elite Driven Narratives in Brazil Undermine the Courts Perceived Legitimacy

The Combo of Asset Freezes and Deterioration of Democratic Norms relegates India’s Democratic Standing

Apr 15, 2026 | Boston University

Recently, India has been experiencing some forms of democratic backsliding. According to Nancy Bermeo’s “On Democratic Backsliding”, she depicts democratic backsliding as...

How Bureaucratic Changes are Quietly Dismantling Democracy

Apr 13, 2026 | University of Houston

When we think of democratic collapse, we usually imagine tanks in the streets or protestors storming a palace. We don’t typically think of a quiet office in Washington D.C....

The Democratic Struggle in Haiti

May 8, 2024 | Ursinus College

The recent gang related events in Haiti have spiraled out of control. The state lacked the capacity and power to prevent such gang activity. Haiti has long had the formal structure of a democracy...

Nayib Bukele’s Dystopia

May 5, 2024 | American University

When Mara Salvatrucha (MS-13) and Barrio 18 members were deported to El Salvador, they returned to a country that did not help them reintegrate or even want them, and they...

Democracy faltering in Brazil? By Neil O’Donnell

May 5, 2024 | Ursinus College

Democracy in Brazil has always been an uphill battle since breaking from military control in 1988. Brazil founded a constitution which typically protects many Brazilians basic rights....

Hungary’s Assault on Academic Freedom

May 2, 2024 | Ursinus College

Hungary has been recently placed under international spotlight for its troubling trend of democratic decline under Prime Minister Viktor Orbán and the Fidesz party. One of the most recent and...

The New(er) Order: Subianto’s ties to Authoritarianism

May 1, 2024 | Ursinus College

Indonesia’s next president, Prabowo Subianto, won the recent election backed by current president Joko Widodo, due to his choice of running mate: Widodo’s son, Gibran Rakabuming Raka. However, up...

Social Inequality, Polarization, and Jokowi

Apr 30, 2024 | Ursinus College

Indonesia has a complex history of social cleavages which has marked periods of polarization and unity. In recent years, pluralist and Islamic elements across Indonesia have rivaled each other for...

How Did Trump’s Presidency Bomb American Democracy?

Apr 30, 2024 | William Jewell College

The United States is one of the world's oldest democracies, being originally founded in 1776. In contrast to nations that have existed for centuries, America is only 247 years old. Since its...

The Root of Myanmar’s Unending Civil War

Apr 29, 2024 | Ursinus College

Myanmar as a nation is poverty-stricken, polarized, and plagued with military rule, completely ravaged by an ongoing civil war. Freedom House gives the country a total freedom score of 9 out of 100,...

Trying to Revive democracy in Honduras by Neil O’Donnell

Apr 29, 2024 | Ursinus College

Trying to Revive democracy in Honduras Honduras has been a Democracy that has been struggling for a very long time with multiple aspects of society and Government. We have seen time and time again...