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.

Democratic Erosion in Chile (1963-1975)

Chile between the period of 1964 and 1975 represents a great example of how democracy can be eroded through both internal failure, but mainly through the planned efforts of global superpowers. This blog argues that democratic erosion and the eventual collapse in Chile...

Two Presidents Walk into a Room: Daniel Noboa and Donald Trump’s Relationship

Exploring President Noboa and Donald Trump’s relationship through a framework of democratic erosion via militarization in Ecuador.

The 2026 Midterms as an Institutional Test

The SAVE Act, Voter Suppression, and Erosion in the US

Mar 4, 2026 | Arizona State University

An updated version of the Safeguard American Voter Eligibility, or SAVE, Act was passed by the House of Representatives on February 11th of this year. Meant to “[ensure] the...

Hungary: A Case Study of Democratic Backsliding in the European Union

Mar 1, 2026 | Arizona State University

Since the conclusion of the Cold War and the collapse of Soviet influence in Central and Eastern Europe, many countries embraced liberal democracy as the ultimate stage...

Democratic Backsliding in the Philippines and the Power of Fake News

Dec 20, 2022 | SUNY-Binghamton

Since the Philippines became a democratic nation in 1986 following the deposition of theDictator Ferdinand Marcos, the stability of liberal democratic institutions in the country havebeen unstable....

What the Dobbs Decision and the Feminist Green Wave Mean for Democracy

Dec 19, 2022 | Skidmore College

Common conceptualizations of democracy emphasize the importance of government and institutions in protecting the rights of marginalized people. In a democracy, laws are meant to apply equally to...

Polarization and the Further Division of Spain

Dec 19, 2022 | SUNY-Binghamton

https://www.gisreportsonline.com/r/divided-spain/ Spain has seen political polarization and country-wide division in its recent history. At the conclusion of Francisco Franco’s authoritarian regime...

Democratic Erosion with the 2022 Italian General Election

Dec 19, 2022 | SUNY-Binghamton

Democratic Erosion in Italy with the 2022 elections For most of the modern era the Italian Republic has been an incredibly unstable democracy since its creation after the second World War. For...

Constitutional Rights in a State of Emergency: The Case of Vietnam

Dec 18, 2022 | Boston University

In March 2020, COVID-19 was officially declared a pandemic; as the medical community worked to find a vaccine, the information world was rampant with misinformation. The Vietnamese government...

The Hostess with the Mostest

Dec 18, 2022 | Skidmore College

Qatar has been ruled by a single family known as the Al Thani since 1847. Although the Al-Thani have always controlled Qatar they have gone through phases of colonization by the British. Qatar...

The End of an Era: It May be Time to Let Twitter Go

Dec 17, 2022 | Skidmore College

Elon Musk has started to run Twitter into the ground. He has laid off about half of the company’s full-time employees, caused chaos after making blue check mark verifications a purchasable...

Winter Is Coming, But We Are Already in a Cold Civil War

Dec 17, 2022 | Skidmore College

Since the recent polarization of American political life, voter suppression and anti-democratic sentiments have been on the forefront of a war against democracy. America is in the heat of...

What If It Was Lebron James: Brittney Griner’s Release and the Bigger Picture

Dec 17, 2022 | Skidmore College

If it were Lebron James or Tom Brady, the United States would have gone to war. What should be celebrated as a win for America, the release of wrongfully detained WNBA star Brittney Griner, has...