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.

The Erosion Threat of the Venezuelan Crisis

Nov 21, 2023 | University of Memphis

The shape of the Venezuelan nation has been suffering for decades now. What was once a booming country has been on a rapid decline. The petrostate quality of the nation has...

A Win for Democracy in Poland: How the Opposition Overcame the Authoritarian PiS Party in October Elections

Nov 21, 2023 | Northeastern University

In their past eight years of control, the ruling Law and Justice (PiS) party has eroded judicial and constitution checks and balances while centralizing media ownership....

North Macedonia: How Peaceful Protest and Collaboration Created New Hope for Democracy

Dec 3, 2021 | Georgia State University

Throughout the late 20th and 21st centuries, a worrying trend has emerged in global politics, referred to as democratic erosion. Even large liberal democracies like the United States have not been...

Laws Ending Early Voting Will Help Republicans and Hurt Democracy

Dec 2, 2021 | Suffolk University

It has been a year since the 2020 presidential election. The ongoing discussions on voter restrictions, harsher voter laws, and voter fraud have begun to quiet down a bit. However, it is important...

Ecuador’s Post-Populist Landscape

Dec 2, 2021 | Georgia State University

After the sharp turn that the Moreno administration took, is Ecuador finally free from Populism’s deadly grip? While it seemed that the presidency of Rafael Correa would be the end of democracy in...

Nayib Bukele: Changing Democracy, for Better or for Worse?

Dec 2, 2021 | Salem State University

Two years have passed since Nayib Bukele was elected El Salvador’s 43rd president. He has since made quite an impact on his country. He has drastically changed the way the rest of the world sees El...

South Africa: A Return to the Apartheid-era Polarization

Dec 2, 2021 | Georgia State University

South Africa–A Return to the Apartheid-era Polarization? Polarization becomes detrimental to democracy when it divides the people into two mutually distrustful parties. Suppose the process of...

Faux Populist?: The Case of Álvaro Uribe Vélez

Dec 2, 2021 | Georgia State University

Álvaro Uribe Vélez was the president of the Republic of Colombia from 2002-2010. Prior to and during his time as president, Colombia was engaged in a civil war between the government and several...

Kyrgyzstan Faces Protests Over Recent Parliamentary Election

Dec 1, 2021 | University of Georgia

On the tail of Kyrgyzstan’s fourth election this year, President Sadyr Japarov seems to have finally secured an allied parliament but this apparent victory hasn’t come without opposition. After a...

Fake News and Democracy: How Are They Related?

Dec 1, 2021 | University of Georgia

The Idea of fake news and misinformation has been a historic problem for the United States of America. Although there are obvious differences between the Orson Welles’ case of Martians invading the...

Ethiopia’s Civil War Rages Ever On

Dec 1, 2021 | Salem State University

Ethiopia is descending further into chaos as citizens of Tigrayan descent are being forced into detention centers. To identify them, the police are relying on surnames, driver's licenses,...