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.

Dying Democracy in Israel

Oct 30, 2023 | Arizona State University

***Note from the author: My post is meant to analyze constructively the state of democratic institutions in Israel and remark on how the current conflict affects this. It is...

Speaker of the House and Cause for Concern

Oct 30, 2023 | Arizona State University

Mike Johnson was recently elected as the new speaker of the United States House of Representatives. Johnson is a supporter of former President Trump and had recently filed a...

Disaggregating the Role of Asian Americans During the COVID-19 Pandemic

Oct 23, 2021 | Suffolk University

On October 7, 2021, at Northeastern University in Boston, MA, Jane Junn, a professor of political science at the University of Southern California, as well as an established author of political...

A Shortage in Bus Drivers Leaves 54,000 Boston Public School Students Wondering, Will My Bus Come Today?

Oct 22, 2021 | Suffolk University

Boston Public School students and parents are feeling outraged and frustrated not knowing whether or not their child’s bus will arrive in the morning or even bring their child home from school in...

Political Incivility in Local Facebook Groups

Oct 22, 2021 | Suffolk University

Repetitive calls for unity, compassion, and empathy for others are uttered daily by our most prominent leaders in the United States. We are experiencing levels of hyper-polarization, incivility, and...

Strengthening Democracy and Increasing Political Participation in Liberia: Does Civil Society Density Matter?

Oct 22, 2021 | Suffolk University

High civil society density in Liberia reduces a citizen’s propensity towards some forms of participation, including contacting a government official, contacting the media, refusing to pay taxes and...

Democratic Erosion in the United States

Oct 18, 2021 | University of Georgia

The purpose of this post is to examine Democratic Erosion in the context of the United States, potential strategies to mitigate democratic erosion, and how democratic erosion led to the Capitol Hill...

Tunisia’s Democracy in Turmoil

Oct 18, 2021 | Salem State University

Until very recently, Tunisia was hailed as a model of democratic progress, achieving a Global Freedom Score of 71 out of 100 on the Freedom House indicator (1). Yet, this democratic progress is now...

What Japarov Could Mean for the Future of Kyrgyzstan

Oct 17, 2021 | University of Georgia

Following the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991, Kyrgyzstan was one heralded as an “island of democracy” in Central Asia. In the previous three decades, the former colony has faced a number of...

Democracy Is Unraveling in Haiti

Oct 16, 2021 | Salem State University

Is the death of Jovenel Moise the last straw in Haiti’s long democratic erosion? Following the assassination of Jovenel Moise and a contentious election fast approaching, democracy in Haiti is...

Polarization and Politics: What’s Next for America

Oct 15, 2021 | University of Georgia

Polarization has become a huge issue in today’s politics and the implications of an “in group” vs “out group” has led to a lot of political drama. There is an increasingly large gap between liberal...