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.

Women in Political Dynasties: The Illusion of Choice and Democratic Erosion in the Philippines

Political dynasties have long controlled Philippine politics, with powerful families passing down leadership positions across generations. Despite the imposition of term limits discouraging dynastic rule, these families have found their way around the constitutional...

From Stardom to Senate: The Alarming Trend of Celebrity Politics in the Philippines

The intersection of celebrity and politics in the Philippines is nothing new. The phenomenon of celebrity politicians—actors, athletes, and other public figures who go from the big screen or stage to the corridors of power—has become a defining aspect of the country's...

Strong Parental Guidance?: How Film Censorship in the Philippines Affects Democracy

While cinema is often dismissed as mere entertainment, censoring it poses significant threats to information accessibility and, by extension, to democracy.

The Myth of a Strong Leader—When Fear Drives Philippines’ Democracy Down

May 5, 2025 | University of the Philippines, Diliman

“I would stop drugs, crime, and criminality in three to six months” -Rodrigo Duterte in his 2016 Presidential Campaign The Philippines has long grappled with maintaining...

The Price of Press: Exposing the Fragility of Philippine Media In the 2025 Senatorial Elections

May 4, 2025 | University of the Philippines, Diliman

Lights, Camera, Action—A line that we usually hear in show business and filmmaking. In this industry, actors desperately compete to get their much-desired “screen time,”...

Ballots and Bullets: How Political Violence Is Undermining Democracy in Mexico

Apr 7, 2025 | Tartu University

Ballots and Bullets: How Political Violence Is Undermining Democracy in Mexico In 2024, Mexico held one of the largest and most consequential elections in its recent history—electing over 20,000...

Anti-Government Protests and Democratic Erosion in Slovakia

Apr 7, 2025 | Tartu University

Anti-Government Protests and Democratic Erosion in Slovakia In its 2025 report, Transparency International highlighted Slovakia as a "country to watch”, noting that the reforms implemented by Prime...

Punished for Protest: International Students Detained for Opposing the Genocide in Gaza

Apr 5, 2025 | Boston University

On March 9th, Mahmoud Khalil was detained in his apartment in New York. President Trump claimed at the beginning of his term that he would ensure the investigation and detainment of international...

How far is too far for South Korea’s presidential pardons?

Apr 2, 2025 | The University of Alabama

On December 3, 2024, at 10:50 P.M., South Korea’s President Yoon Suk Yeol held an emergency address to the nation. Yoon vowed he would protect his country from communists and pro-North Korea...

How tolerating and encouraging violence fuels democratic backsliding in Georgia

Apr 1, 2025 | Tartu University

How tolerating and encouraging violence fuels democratic backsliding in Georgia During the past few months, the streets of Tbilisi—the capital of Georgia—have been constantly...

Repression on Repeat: From Kyiv to Minsk to Tbilisi

Apr 1, 2025 | Tartu University

Repression on Repeat: From Kyiv to Minsk to Tbilisi Last October, parliamentary elections were held in Georgia. Many considered them as important as a referendum because Georgian citizens...

The People, the Fear, and the Exhaustion Machine: How Populist Elites in Georgia and Serbia Rule by Chaos

Mar 31, 2025 | Tartu University

The People, the Fear, and the Exhaustion Machine: How Populist Elites in Georgia and Serbia Rule by Chaos In recent elections, during political crises, in every speech and briefing held after...

From Democratic Revolutionaries to Genocidaire Apologists: How the UAE Corrupted Sudanese Civil Society Leaders

Mar 17, 2025 | The University of Alabama

It is an open secret that Emirati planes are touching down at remote Chadian military bases with boxes of “humanitarian aid” - aid that is instead guns, ammo, and drones, destined for the...

Donald Trump the Nazi Reincarnate?: Godwin’s Law and How This Phenomenon is Counterproductive to Understanding Democratic Erosion

Mar 7, 2025 | The University of Alabama

“The assumption was that voters would be turned off by seeing Trump for what he is — authoritarian, pitiless, hateful — and would recognize him as a kind of Hitler.” “Russian Foreign Minister Sergei...