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 Underlying Importance to McCarthy’s Removal as Speaker

Oct 16, 2023 | Boston University

On October 3rd, 2023, an unprecedented political event occurred when the house voted 216-210 to remove California Republican Kevin McCarthy as Speaker of the House. With the...

What the Removal of House Speaker Kevin McCarthy means for American Democracy

Oct 16, 2023 | Boston University

Despite once being hailed as a pillar of democracy and freedom, democracy in the United States has been under threat for a while. Political circumstances threaten American...

Myanmar’s Coup Cycle: Civil Society’s Fruitless Resistance

Apr 29, 2021 | Arizona State University

Civil society has met the military’s coup in February and detainment of democratic heroine Aung San Suu Kyi with both nonviolent and violent forms of protest. Will we see a revival in Myanmar’s...

Protests in Haiti

Apr 29, 2021 | Georgia State University

Nothing has ever come easy for Haiti and the citizens in Haiti. The country is on the verge of another violent collapse as Haitians take their grief and complaints to the streets regarding the...

A New Normal: Philippine Democracy Amid the COVID-19 Pandemic

Apr 29, 2021 | University of the Philippines, Diliman

It has been a year since COVID-19 shocked the world. Known as a zoonotic disease, COVID-19 is believed to be originated from animals or products from animal origins, transmitted to humans. This is a...

Democratic Erosion: United States

Apr 29, 2021 | Georgia State University

What happens when citizens suddenly feel they have lost their rights and their voices are not being heard? The minute the government does not take any accountability for plummeting democratic...

Democratic Erosion: Kenya

Apr 29, 2021 | Georgia State University

Kenya, a colony occupied by the United Kingdom originating in 1895, was first colonized during the Scramble to Africa. At this time, European countries, predominantly Belgium, Italy, Portugal,...

Mocha and Jam

Apr 28, 2021 | University of the Philippines, Diliman

On the Pathos of Colloquial Language and the Illusion of Ethos In 2017, a University of Oxford study reported that President Rodrigo Duterte’s camp during the 2016 election spent $200,000 for paid...

Philippine Democracy at Stake in the 2022 Elections

Apr 28, 2021 | University of the Philippines, Diliman

With only one more year to go, Duterte and his tyranny will finally end. This leaves the country’s democracy in a precarious position in the next 2022 elections. Will the country vote to regain...

Democracy Erodes by Desecrating the Constitution

Apr 28, 2021 | University of the Philippines, Diliman

Beginning the 1970s, the Philippines has endured Constitutional violations committed by no less than the government. To go around the 1935 Constitution’s ban on a third consecutive term, President...

Collecting Debts and Votes: Duterte Administration’s COVID-19 Budget Politics

Apr 27, 2021 | University of the Philippines, Diliman

Instead of the usual keys and box containing small change from the previous trip or pasada, Daniel donned his face mask, grabbed a cardboard sign, and gripped an empty plastic container. His route...