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.

India’s Free Speech Censorship is Ruining Democracy

Oct 17, 2023 | Boston University

India’s democratic backsliding has been a topic of concern for many decades. However, in recent years, the censorship of free speech in particular has led to detrimental...

American Democracy and The Supreme Court

Oct 17, 2023 | Boston University

With recent discussion in the news surrounding the potential adoption of an “ethics code” or other code of conduct for the US Supreme Court, the question of its role in US...

Social Media Bans in Iran

May 20, 2021 | George Washington University

On January 15, 2021, a popular messaging app called Signal, crashed globally. After WhatsApp altered its privacy agreement to share its data with Facebook, Signal saw a surge of new users, prompting...

Saudi Government Social Media Manipulation

May 20, 2021 | George Washington University

Jamal Khashoggi, a journalist and Saudi regime critic, was murdered on October 2nd, 2018 by the Saudi Arabian government inside a Turkish Consulate. Fumbling for a secure alibi that did not exist,...

Zombieland: The Case of Declining Institutional Independence in Turkey

May 12, 2021 | Boston University

There exist various methods of asserting control over a state. In Turkey, it involves what I call “zombification”. Ahval’s Yavuz Baydar in 2018 wrote an article whose headline was “Turning Turkey...

Is Turkey’s Political Zero-Sum Game; Polarization Versus Democracy ?

May 12, 2021 | Boston University

Polarization in Turkey is by all means not a new phenomenon. Since the country’s founding in 1923, Turkey has long suffered from deep-seated ethnic, societal, and structural divisions. Therefore, it...

Not So Nice After All: Growing Polarization in Canadian Politics

May 12, 2021 | Boston University

I didn’t think political alignment mattered much until I came to the United States for university and got to see partisanship in practice. In Toronto, it was assumed that most people you meet would...

Economic Inequality Breeds Political Inequality within the United States

May 11, 2021 | Boston University

Poverty in America is undermining the fabric of democracy. Everyone is aware of the negative impacts of poverty on stress levels and overall health, but it also impedes citizens’ ability to...

Australian Threat of Democratic Decline

May 8, 2021 | Ursinus College

The Commonwealth of Australia was formed in 1901 and is made up of the six colonies that were created on the continent. The commonwealth is considered a Constitutional Monarchy with Queen...

Slovenia’s Democratic Decline

May 8, 2021 | Ursinus College

Over the past few decades, Slovenia has shifted dramatically from a socialist state within the Soviet Union. Governments with a history of socialism have been more likely to experience democratic...

Down but Not Out: The Threat of the Islamic State to the Democracy of Iraq

May 7, 2021 | George Washington University

COVID-19 is not the only killer lurking about the shifting battlefield of a post-Saddam Iraq. Former Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi proclaimed that the war against the Islamic State was over in...