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.

The Erosion of an Already Weak Democracy: The Rise and Fall of Jovenel Moïse

Jovenel Moïse's presidency marked a dangerous shift from Haiti's already shaky democracy to overt authoritarianism. Delayed elections, unchecked abuse of executive power, and violent suppression of resistance became the norm. By the time of his assassination in 2021,...

Undermining the Feedback Loop: How Trump’s Educational Policies Hinder Democratic Accountability

In a larger trend of censoring opinions which the Trump administration views as undesirable, the Trump administration’s actions towards schools and universities has a negative impact on democracy as a whole. Such a system depends on the free transmission of...

Democracy Six Feet Under: How Disinformation is Burying Philippine Democracy Alive

Philippine democracy is in great danger once again now that the two families who benefited the most from disinformation – the Marcoses and Dutertes, are in power and have turned against one another. As both camps sling disinformation against each other, the...

Bridging the Moral Chasm: Understanding the Increasing Polarization in the Philippines

May 23, 2024 | University of the Philippines, Diliman

Dubbed by analysts as the “most significant election in the Southeast Asian nation’s recent history”, the last 2022 national elections was the most polarized and most...

Tyranny? You mean, Unity?: The Fateful Alliance of the Marcos-Duterte Clans in the Philippines

May 23, 2024 | University of the Philippines, Diliman

“Bagong Pilipinas, Bagong Mukha!”, (trans: New Philippines, New Face) the battle cry of the 2022 Marcos-Duterte campaign jingle echoed throughout the nation as the...

Evaluating the (un)Democratic Performance of Nigeria’s Muhammadu Buhari

Feb 4, 2022 | University of Chicago

When All Progressives Congress (APC) candidate Muhammadu Buhari defeated the incumbent Johnathan Goodluck from the People's Democratic Party (PDP) in the 2015 Nigerian election, many saw the country...

Patria y Vida: The Cuban People Take a Stand

Feb 4, 2022 | University of Chicago

2021 was a historic year across the world’s democratic institutions, and not for the best reasons. There were at least five successful coups in 2021 alone (more than in all five previous years...

Violence Against Journalists in Mexico: An Attack on Freedom of Press

Feb 4, 2022 | University of Chicago

This past month, four journalists have been killed in Mexico. Last year, at least seven journalists were killed, marking an unprecedented number of deaths of journalists and reporters. Mexico has...

AOC and the Met Gala: How Elected Officials Becoming Celebrities Undermines Their Offices

Feb 4, 2022 | University of Chicago

Shining in the flash of the paparazzis’ cameras, one would think that the woman posing was a seasoned celebrity. An actress, or perhaps a pop star. In reality she was the U.S....

Consequences of Filibuster Reform in the U.S.

Feb 3, 2022 | University of Chicago

The current debate over whether to reform the filibuster in the U.S. Senate has profound implications for the strength of American democracy. The filibuster, a procedural rule which allows any...

In Israel, Can Technology Prevent Democratic Erosion?

Feb 3, 2022 | University of Chicago

In Polyarchy: Participation and Opposition, Robert Dahl posits “three necessary conditions for a democracy” [1]. Underlying all three conditions is the availability of “alternative sources of...

How International Relations Affect Serbia

Jan 21, 2022 | Koç University

On 20 November 2021, the President of the Republic of Serbia, Alexander Vucic, gave an interview in Belgrade, where he discussed the most important issues affecting his country today. Asked how he...

Society’s “Demons”: How Anti-LGBTQ+ Framing Works in Poland

Jan 20, 2022 | National University for Political Science and Administrative Studies, Bucharest, Romania

In the photo: “LGBT-free zone” sticker in the front of the conservative magazine Gazeta Polska which included it in their weekly editions “Stigmatization of LGBTI people is a long-standing problem...

Will Moldova’s New Government Be Able to Put an End to the Transnistria Conflict?

Jan 18, 2022 | Koç University

After a runoff vote against incumbent Igor Dorton, opposition incumbent Maia Sandu won Moldova's presidential election in November 2020. After she won the elections, she immediately made a call for...