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.

Democracy Decline in India: Worth Compromising for the West and the U.S.

Oct 16, 2023 | School of Public Policy, Chiang Mai University

The rise of China’s assertions around the world and the fall of liberal values among political stakeholders in the United States and the West had been married to the...

Australia: Constitutional Recognition of the Indigenous People Fails at the Polls

Oct 16, 2023 | School of Public Policy, Chiang Mai University

Australia is a nation that has, since its founding as a British colony in the late eighteenth century, struggled with the recognition and inclusion of its indigenous...

Democracy: COVID’s Latest Victim

Apr 15, 2021 | American University

Never in history has there been such a widespread restriction on movement. Around the globe, countries rushed to enact emergency restrictions to protect their citizens from the novel coronavirus....

President al-Sisi vs. The People

Apr 14, 2021 | Georgia State University

The violation of human rights is a tough price to pay to bring stability to a country, at least in the eyes of Egypt’s President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi. al-Sisi has been in office since 2014, after...

Populists Politicizing the Personal and Deepening Democratic Erosion: Abortion Law in Poland

Apr 13, 2021 | University of Denver

On Thursday, October 22nd, 2020, the Supreme Court of Poland ruled that abortions due to fetal defects or lethal fetal diagnoses are unconstitutional, and that, The woman’s comfort is not a reason...

Virtual Civil Society Networks and the Milk Tea Alliance

Apr 12, 2021 | American University

As the world grows more interconnected through the proliferation of the internet, social media and other instant messaging technology will play an increased role in the fight against...

Democratic Erosion – El Salvador

Apr 12, 2021 | Georgia State University

El Salvador has always had challenges in becoming a democracy. El Salvador has a difficult past when it has come to becoming a democratic state. The country has been troubled with high rates of...

Digital Populism: The Risk of the New Political Outsider

Apr 12, 2021 | Northeastern University

When Donald Trump tweeted, the world listened. More than that, the world reacted. A new @realdonaldtrump Tweet represented an endless array of possibilities—would he announce a new policy? Refute...

Armenia’s Postwar Political Crisis

Apr 11, 2021 | American University

On February 25, 2021 several dozen Armenian army officers and senior military leaders issued a letter calling for the Prime Minister, Nikol Pashinyan, and his cabinet, to resign. The move came in...

Civil Society and Democratic Decline: A Look at Poland

Apr 11, 2021 | American University

Poland was once seen as a model post-Soviet transition to democracy. Between 1989 and 2014, Poland built democratic institutions, joined the EU, NATO, and the OSCE, and experienced significant...

Elites as Key to Elimination of Racial Injustice in America’s Government Institutions

Apr 11, 2021 | Rollins College

How much power do the masses have when it comes to preventing racial discrimination from bureacratic and state-level government institutions? As Georgia governor, Brian Kemp, demonstrates with the...