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.

Ordinary Americans rescue democracy

Do Americans have what it takes to save democracy? Irrefutably, the answer is yes. The second Trump administration has engaged in a variety of measures to steamroll the opposition. Abetted by a subservient Republican party, empowered by a complacent Supreme Court,...

President Trump Attacks News Agencies Through Legal Means

President Trump has been attacking our democracy through legal means by suing news agencies and journalist.

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

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 pertain to convicted sex trafficker Jefferey Epstein. Epstein was a financier who pleaded...

Trumpian Reform and Its Implications for American Democracy

Mar 9, 2026 | University of Houston

Should a president always be held accountable for crimes committed in office if he claims they were necessary to doing his job? In Trump v. United States, the Supreme Court...

Myanmar’s Democracy Crisis

Mar 8, 2026 | University of Houston

On February 1, 2021, Myanmar’s (Burma) military, known as the Tatmadaw, seized control of the country and overthrew the democratically elected government led by Aung San Suu...

Fifteen Years After the Jasmine Revolution: Is Democracy in Tunisia Backsliding?

Feb 12, 2026 | Boston University

On January 14, 2026, Tunisia celebrated 15 years since it ousted authoritarian leader Zine El Abidine Ben Ali. The Jasmine Revolution, named after the country’s national flower, was the catalyst for...

Funding Backsliding: How Hungary Tests the Limits of EU Democratic Enforcement

Feb 12, 2026 | Boston University

The European Union recently froze 10 billion euros in payments to Hungary, over concern that the Prime Minister, Viktor Orbán, had failed to carry out promised judicial reforms. In 2022, the...

ANO 2011, Andrej Babiš, and Implications of the Fall 2025 Election on Czech Democracy

Feb 12, 2026 | Boston University

On October 3 and 4, 2025, the Czech Republic held its quadrennial Chamber of Deputies (Lower house of Parliament) election, which resulted in a decisive victory for ANO 2011, a right-wing populist...

Legal but Corrosive: Trump’s Plan to Withdraw the U.S. From Several International Organizations

Feb 12, 2026 | Boston University

At the start of this calendar year, rumors started circulating in the White House that President Trump aims to withdraw the U.S. from 66 International Organizations. Many of these organizations...

The Illusion of Elections: How Authoritarian Power Undermines Democratic Legitimacy in Myanmar

Jan 10, 2026 | University of the Philippines, Diliman

Democracy is often framed as a straightforward process in which citizens elect their leaders and political authority reflects popular will. Yet the presence of elections alone does not guarantee...

Georgia’s Foreign Agents Law and Quiet Death of Democratic Accountability

Jan 8, 2026 | University of Pittsburgh

In May of 2024, thousands of Georgians filled the streets of the capital city, Tbilisi, chanting for the country to abandon “Kremlin-style” law, as police fired water cannons and arrested protestors...

The Boiling Point of Election Violence: Democratic Erosion in Tanzania

Jan 1, 2026 | University of Pittsburgh

Once hailed for its relative stability in an otherwise politically volatile East Africa, Tanzania has exploded into violence and political protest following the controversial reelection of President...

Amnesty for Atrocities: Peru’s Democratic Backsliding in the Shadow of Fujimori

Dec 18, 2025 | University of Pittsburgh

On August 13 2025, recently impeached Peruvian President Dina Boluarte signed bill No. 366 of 2023 into law, which provided amnesty to those who committed crimes against humanity during the...

What the Madhesi Movement Reveals About Nepal’s Democratic Erosion

Dec 17, 2025 | University of Pittsburgh

Nepal’s Madhesi community lives in the Tarai plains along the southern border, a region culturally intertwined with northern India. Madhesis speak Maithili, Bhojpuri, Awadhi, and Hindi, maintain...