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.

Modern Gerrymandering and Its Damaging Effects on U.S. Electoral Democracy

Introduction Gerrymandering is the practice of drawing electoral maps to favor one political party over another. When redrawing maps, the party in power will use two strategies: packing and cracking. Packing is when a party tries to fit in as many of their likely...

Confusion and Control: New Voting Laws Weakening Democracy in America

A core component of democracy is representation through free and fair elections. Free and fair can be defined by who qualifies to vote and then by the actual ability of that group to vote. The SAVE Act, which presents stricter voter ID laws, with the intention of...

Hollowing out the State: DOGE and the Administrative Erosion of American Democracy

On January 20, 2025, President Trump signed an executive order establishing the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), a body embedded within the existing U.S. Digital Service and led by tech billionaire Elon Musk. Framed publicly as a crusade against wasteful...

When Discretion Replaces Equality: How Immigration Enforcement Threatens Democracy

Mar 29, 2026 | Suffolk University

When Discretion Replaces Equality: How Immigration Enforcement Threatens Democracy A democracy cannot survive if the law is enforced differently depending on who you are....

Israel’s Democracy Is Eroding by Design, Not by Chance

Mar 29, 2026 | Suffolk University

Democratic erosion in Israel did not take place overnight. Israel’s leaders built upon democratic erosion through a deliberate strategy. If the Israeli government conducted...

Democratic Backsliding in the 2025 Tanzanian Presidential Election

Feb 13, 2026 | Boston University

In the past year, Tanzania has been dealing with tensions surrounding their presidential election in October. There have been claims of election tampering, insurgency, and suppression of the...

Italy Through the Lens of Democratic Erosion

Feb 13, 2026 | Boston University

Are We Still Living in a WEIRD World? In the last decade, the world has witnessed a growing instability of democratic institutions in countries considered to be consolidated democracies–the...

Stealth Authoritarianism in El Salvador

Feb 13, 2026 | Boston University

In our assigned reading by Olán Varol, he describes his theory of “stealth authoritarianism” as a way that “the new generation of authoritarians cloak repressive measures under the mask of law,...

How The White House Takeover of the Press Pool Threatens Democracy

Feb 13, 2026 | Boston University

Since its creation in 1914, the White House Correspondents’ Association (WHCA) has managed and coordinated a rotating press pool that is allotted coverage to White House briefings. Under this...

Executive Aggrandizement and Media Control Under Giorgia Meloni

Feb 13, 2026 | Boston University

Access to public broadcasting and media freedom are essential pillars of a functioning democracy, not only as information outlets for the electorate, but also as a check on government through public...

Border Politics and the Expansion of Executive Power

Feb 13, 2026 | Boston University

Immigration has remained one of the most politically charged issues in the United States. Over the past year, debates over border enforcement, asylum restrictions, and federal deployments have...

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DOGE and the Mask of “Reform”: Stealth Authoritarianism in Action Once Again

Feb 13, 2026 | Boston University

In early 2025, President Donald Trump announced the creation of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), his specialized advisory initiative led by Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy. Its stated...

Israel, A Democracy?

Feb 13, 2026 | Boston University

Israel is frequently described as “the only democracy in the Middle East,” yet when evaluated through the lens of democratic theory, this claim is quite absurd. Israel should not and have never been...

Enemies of Italy: How does Giorgia Meloni Threaten Democracy in Italy?

Feb 13, 2026 | Boston University

As tensions rise in Italy with a recent security decree and protests against the Winter Olympic Games, Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni continues to reveal the potential threat she poses to...