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.

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

What do we hope to accomplish when comparing President Donald Trump to Adolf Hitler, a tyrannical perpetrator of genocide?

The Russia-Ukraine War Bodes Poorly for Democracy, But Not in the Way You Think

The Russia-Ukraine War is a serious threat to global democracy through the growing wave of isolationism in the United States, an entity that has typically been at the forefront of fighting authoritarianism across the world.

The Trump Administration’s Attack on USAID

The Trump administration’s efforts to dismantle USAID, increase concerns about democratic backsliding as it could result in a trend with the executive undermining institutional legitimacy.

Make Sweden Great Again: How Can We Understand Populism in Sweden?

Mar 11, 2024 | Uncategorized, William Jewell College

Sweden presents an especially interesting case in the study of democratic erosion. How does a country that scored 100/100 on Freedom House in 2023 find itself at the...

Venezuela: Two leaders, one resource, no democracy

Mar 7, 2024 | William Jewell College

The story of Venezuela’s descent into autocracy is not one tale; it is two stories linked together by little more than a transfer of power and an overreliance upon the...

Zambia’s Precarious Democracy

Mar 7, 2022 | Ohio State University

In the Autumn of 2016, an election was held in a deeply divided country. After months of protest, and in the wake of claims of election fraud by the losing party, this country elected a president...

Indonesia’s Push for an Increase in Number of Presidential Terms

Mar 6, 2022 | Ohio State University

As economic unrest continues to unfold in Indonesia due to the pandemic, people have pushed for both a delayed presidential election and the addition of a presidential term, increasing it from two...

Algeria’s 2021 Snap Elections

Mar 6, 2022 | Ohio State University

2021 saw the country of Algeria hold a snap election in which the entire lower house of Parliament was up for reelection, all 407 of them. This was in major part due to the Hirak protest movement...

Autocratic Regimes: The Importance of Free Media During War

Mar 4, 2022 | University of Chicago

Now that Vladimir Putin has launched a full-scale invasion against Ukraine, it is difficult to argue with the reality that Russia should now be considered a fully autocratic regime. Putin has shown...

Targeted by All Sides and Caught in the Crossfire, Journalism Has Become Yemen’s “Death Career”

Mar 4, 2022 | Ohio State University

This month, the International Federation of Journalists along with the Yemeni Journalists’ Syndicate have launched a campaign to draw international attention to the arrest and detainment of four...

Response to Anna Katz: “The Fight for the Soul of the Republican Party Just Suffered Another Loss”

Mar 2, 2022 | Rollins College

Patriarchal Authoritarianism in Egypt: What Women’s Rights Show About Backsliding

Mar 2, 2022 | University of Chicago

The connection between authoritarian regimes and a lack of rights for women has been seen many times before. It is often even a distinguishing trait in the popular discourse, however, the struggle...

What the 2020 Protest Wave Can Tell Us About Polarization and Erosion in the United States

Mar 2, 2022 | University of Chicago

The summer of 2020 brought a fierce wave of protests and demonstrations throughout not only the United States, but much of the world. While perpetuated by the pervasive police brutality that...

Russia: Suppressing Dissent and Evading Accountability

Mar 1, 2022 | University of Chicago

People take part in a protest against Russia's invasion of Ukraine on February 26, 2022, in Frankfurt am Main, western Germany. (Photo by Yann Schreiber / AFP) (Photo by YANN SCHREIBER/AFP via Getty...