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.

Recent Polish Elections signal a shift from populism potentially across Europe back to democracy.

Dec 3, 2023 | Salem State University

On October 15th, 2023, Poland held parliamentary elections. The rightwing populist Law and Justice Party (PiS) won 194 seats (35.38% of the vote), while the Civic Coalition...

Unraveling Russia’s Influence on Brazil’s Democracy: The Nova Resistência

Nov 24, 2023 | Northeastern University

In the landscape of global information manipulation, the New Resistance emerges as a significant player in the erosion of democracy. The New Resistance is a...

What Is to Blame for the World’s Democratic Backsliding?

Feb 16, 2022 | Boston University

There have been several ebbs and flows in the amount of democratic nations in the past few centuries, and many of which are the results of world events and other far-reaching moments in history. As...

States’ Dismantling of The VRA of 1965: What It Means For The Future Of American Democracy

Feb 16, 2022 | Boston University

The Voting Rights Act of 1965 is arguably one of the most important pieces of legislation passed by Congress and signed into law during the twentieth century. The act is an essential part of...

Nicaragua’s Fall of Democracy

Feb 16, 2022 | Boston University

May Day banner Sandinista Workers Federation/ SLR images In November of 2021, when presidential elections were being held, a slogan quedate en casa was adopted to encourage those who opposed Daniel...

Poland’s Dismissal of EU Rule of Law: Concern for Democratic Backsliding

Feb 16, 2022 | Boston University

A man holds a banner with Jaroslaw Kaczynski, leader of ruling party Law and Justice (PiS) with the slogan "Program of the party program of the nation, Stop Demoktaturze (combine words democracy and...

How Governments’ COVID-19 Response May Bring Us a Black-Mirror Future

Feb 16, 2022 | Boston University

By: Wayne Mok Which rights truly make a person empowered? A society democratic? These are questions that many brilliant minds have grappled with for centuries, if not millennia. There may never be a...

Government Response to the January 6th Riot

Feb 15, 2022 | Ohio State University

The January 6th riot was a protest to the certification of the 2020 election results and caused lots of damage to the physical Capitol building as well as the damage to the ideas of American...

Military Coup Putting Democracy at Risk in Myanmar

Feb 15, 2022 | Boston University

The military coup on February 1, 2021 in Myanmar succeeded in doing something that the Republican Party could not accomplish in the United States after the election of 2020; overthrowing a...

Redistricting’s Partisan Weaponization is Catalyzing Democratic Backsliding

Feb 15, 2022 | Boston University

Every ten years, state legislatures, independent commissions, politician commissions, advisory commissions, and backup commissions redraw legislative boundaries across the country. The redrawing,...

Donald Trump’s Stealth Authoritarianism in Contesting the 2020 U.S. Presidential Election

Feb 14, 2022 | Ohio State University

More and more news comes out about former President Donald Trump’s efforts to refute and overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election. The results of that election demonstrated President...