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.

Arresting Opposition and Squashing Protests: Democratic Backsliding in Turkey Under Erdoğan

Turkey has been inching towards autocracy under Erdoğan and the AKP for the last 22 years.

2025 Romanian Elections: An Election Redo and a Barred Candidate

Only two weeks out from Presidential Elections, Romanian voters face a tough decision in deciding on the next leader of their country. The latest opinion polls show that nearly 40% of voters are still undecided on who to vote for. After all, most voters already cast...

Why Protecting American Democracy Means Coming Together In Protest

In the lead up to the 2020 presidential election, the Democratic Erosion Consortium's very own professors Robert Blair and Steven Rosenzweig wrote an article in The Boston Globe urging readers to “Get ready to protest like democracy depends on it.” The article was in...

Planting Roots in Shifting Sands: Weak Parties and the Quest for Democratic Consolidation in the Philippines

Apr 17, 2024 | University of the Philippines, Diliman

No other comparison on Philippine politicians is as aesthetically pleasing as being called “butterflies”. This is not to say they are graceful or resilient, but rather that...

The Crisis in South Sudan

Apr 16, 2024 | Ursinus College

South Sudan is currently a failing democracy. After South Sudan gained independence from Sudan on July 9th, 2011, they have been experiencing a shaky consolidation of...

Censures, Denials, and the GOP’s Legitimization of Capitol Riots

Feb 14, 2022 | Ohio State University

The storming of the Capitol and attempted insurrection on Jan. 6, 2021 was perhaps the most immediate and explicit threat to the United States’ democracy in recent history. In its aftermath, key...

Roe v. Wade: The Fate of Democracy through the Lens of a Landmark Case

Feb 14, 2022 | Ohio State University

Within the framework of the Constitution, careful attention is allocated to the three branches of government. American politicians elevate checks and balances or counterbalancing influences by which...

Borat: A Sign American Democracy Can Be “Very Nice”

Feb 14, 2022 | Ohio State University

While a sign of robust democracy has always been the freedom of the press and freedom of speech, there can be moments where this freedom contributes to democratic backsliding. Democratic backsliding...

How Ohio is Fighting to Keep Democratic Fairness Alive

Feb 14, 2022 | Ohio State University

U.S. voters are no stranger to gerrymandering. The term has been around for over a century now and describes the process of drawing boundaries of congressional districts that give one party an...

The NRA and the Ruse of Equal Representation in America

Feb 14, 2022 | Boston University

How the National Rifle Association turned from lobbyists protecting gun owners to firearm manufacturers' biggest tool in influencing Congress and undermining democracy The issues surrounding gun...

Presidential Executive Order Overload and Their Harmful Impacts

Feb 14, 2022 | Ohio State University

The number of presidential executive orders per year has reached a record high since Jimmy Carter’s presidency. An executive order, as explained by the American Bar Association, is a “signed,...

Every Ten Years, Politicians in the U.S. Redraw Maps – and it’s Killing Democracy

Feb 14, 2022 | Ohio State University

Following the conclusion of the 2020 Census in the United States, all fifty states began the process of legislative redistricting....

Are Mail-in Ballots Detrimental to American Democracy?

Feb 14, 2022 | Ohio State University

In 2020, as the Covid pandemic ravaged the country, the United States saw a significant increase in the use of mail-in ballot....

Democracy Lost in the Mail: Understanding the 2020 Postal Service Crisis

Feb 14, 2022 | Ohio State University

Democratic erosion has, if nothing else, certainly become a more prominent and well-known topic in the United States over the past six years. The extent to which events in the 2016 and 2020...