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.

TUNISIA’S AUTHORITARIAN TURN: How President Kais Saied Is Dismantling the Arab Spring’s Only Democracy

When Tunisia's citizens overthrew their dictator in 2011, the world hailed Tunisia's emergence from this uprising as the only country to become a true democracy. For several years, Tunisia served as solid evidence that democracy was a realistic outcome of the Arab...
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How Trump and his federal forces are using America’s polarization problem to dismantle American democracy

America is suffering from intense affective polarization, and Trump is using this polarization and federal forces to diminish important avenues for horizontal accountability, vertical accountability, and resistance.

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Indefinite Term Limits: How Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele is Further Entrenching His Power

Salvadoran president Nayib Bukele aims to entrench his executive power through the introduction of indefinite term limits.

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