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.

Fighting Fake News: Lessons from the World’s Top Target

2018 was a year of awakening in Taiwan. Two high-profile events threw the consequences of fake news into relief. First, Su Chii-cherng, the envoy to Osaka for the Taipei Economic and Cultural Office, took his own life in September 2018 after false reports about him...

Can Democracies Wait Another 2,500 Years to Meet Today’s Needs?

In 500 BC, during Athens' golden age of democracy, the voting age was set at 18. Over 2,500 years later, this threshold remains the same in the vast majority (90%) of countries. However, as democracies grapple with rising populism, authoritarianism, marginalization of...

Présidence Impériale: Executive Aggrandizement in Macron’s France

Amidst significant challenges to France’s democracy, President Emmanuel Macron has ignored democratic norms and abused constitutional articles to expand his own power—periling France’s democracy.

In the U.S. and Western Europe, similar immigration backlash is a symptom of two different problems.

Brown University

As the United States and Western European countries confront historic surges in migration, the backlash-fueled success of far-right parties has increasingly been...

Time to Say Au Revoir to Laïcité

Brown University

For the past three decades, one article of clothing has captivated the attention of the fashion capital of the world: headscarves. From Marine Le Pen to Emmanuel Macron, no...

The Digital Divide: Social Media’s Role in Polarization and Democratic Backsliding

Brown University

It was a week after Donald Trump won the US 2024 Presidential Election. My little sister texted me frantically: “Mom keeps accusing Dad of voting for Trump. She can’t get off TikTok… She’s...

Addressing the coup-demic: Why Regime Change Matters for Democratic Erosion

Brown University

On the very first day of my “Democratic Erosion” seminar, I voiced my unease about the state of democracy in the Sahel—a region currently experiencing an unprecedented wave of political instability....

The Power of the Young: A New Era of Democracy for Bangladesh

Brown University

Throughout Bangladesh’s history and into the present, student- and youth-led movements have spearheaded efforts to influence political change. Examples like the 1969 revolt against Pakistani...

How the European Union Facilitates Democratic Erosion At Home

Brown University

Protecting and fostering democracy has been a cornerstone of the European Union project since its founding. Yet the recent rise of antidemocratic regimes in countries like Poland and Hungary has...

Can “Asia’s Trump” Make a Political Comeback?

Brown University

He used methods of intimidation and subverted the rule of law to attack his political enemies. He played the “strong man” to weaken institutional mechanisms and checks against his authority. He...

Cash for Votes: How Pervasive Clientelism Undermines India’s Democracy

Brown University

“All elected leaders buy votes. Even children know that” (NPR). This is how governance in India is viewed by many of its citizens: a system that is democratic in name, with duly elected leaders, but...

What can the Balon D’or tell us about Democratic Erosion?

Brown University

Unforgettable robbery! Corruption! Undeserved! Are these comments from the recent US Presidential Election? No, they are reactions to the announcement of the most important individual award in the...

Looking Local: Why the Rise of School Takeovers Threaten American Democracy

Brown University

The 2024 election and the rise of Trump have sparked concern on the Left over the state of democracy in the United States and the consolidation of power under the incoming administration. This...

Fake News For Profit: The Disinformation Goldrush

Brown University

As the 2016 US Presidential election approached, ‘fake news’ surged across the internet, with hundreds of pro-Trump websites shared by millions of people. At least 100 of these sites have been...

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