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.

These blogs reflect the views of the student authors, and not those of the Democratic Erosion Consortium.

When Violence Becomes “Politics as Usual”: How Normalization Threatens American Democracy

Political violence in the United States is no longer an outlier, it’s becoming an accepted feature of political life. That normalization, more than any single incident, poses a profound threat to the norms that keep American democracy intact.

Presidential Crisis in Guatemala: The Challenges and Resilience of Democracy

Guatemalan anti-corruption reformer Bernardo Arévalo’s rise to power and election in 2023 brought political blowback from the incumbent power bloc, threatening democratic norms and only being curtailed through widespread international pressure and citizen-led protests.

El Salvador: Nayib Bukele’s Stealth Authoritarian Tactics

How the popularity of Bukele’s war on gangs has emboldened him to quietly dismantle checks on power through specific stealth authoritarian tactics to further erode democratic systems.

Political Attitudes, Polarization, and Their Consequences in the United States

May 10, 2024 | William Jewell College

The United States has been facing political polarization since the early 1970s - but the uprise of technology, media, and freedom of expression has demonstrated how a...

A 2024 Rematch: Will it be the Authoritarian or the Genocide-Enabler?

May 10, 2024 | American University

With the grim results of Super Tuesday, we face the catastrophic choice between Trump, espousing authoritarian ideology, and Biden, a now genocide-enabler. “Democracies...

Milorad Dodik: Converting Nationalism into Power

May 4, 2021 | Georgia State University

How do you use genocide denial to become the leader of the country that had the genocide committed against them? Milorad Dodik has been searching for the answer to that question for some time; and...

Burmese Call for International Intervention

May 4, 2021 | Georgia State University

Taylor Earnhart Burmese Call for International Intervention The Burmese people have been resisting an imposing junta since February 1, 2021. February 1, 2021, Myanmar’s democratically elected...

Cuba’s Privatization May Not Be a Step Towards Democracy

May 3, 2021 | Georgia State University

In times of crisis, governments have a responsibility of maintaining their power, the stability of their institutions, and protecting their citizens from deteriorating conditions of their...

Will There Really Be Elections in Palestine?

May 3, 2021 | Georgia State University Perimeter College

The world received some excellent news just this past year, in February 2020. President Mahmoud Abbas has vowed to hold...

Democratic Erosion in the United States: Protest

May 3, 2021 | Georgia State University

Within the United States constitution, the first amendment prohibits any law limiting freedom with respect to religion, expression, peaceful assembly, or the right of citizens to petition the...

Rigged Elections: Struggles in Serbia Help Show Legitimacy in the United States’ 2020 Election

May 3, 2021 | Georgia State University Perimeter College

There have been numerous claims that the 2020 election results were rigged or fraudulent. Many Americans now believe their democratic systems are falling apart, and that those that have been put...

Duterte’s Legacy: Populism in the Philippines

May 1, 2021 | University of the Philippines, Diliman

In 2016, Rodrigo Duterte won the presidential election with an astonishing 16 million votes beating the other four challengers. Despite his rape jokes, death threats, and various obscenities during...

COVID-19 and How It Aggravated the Philippines’ Eroding Democracy

May 1, 2021 | University of the Philippines, Diliman

The COVID-19 pandemic is probably the greatest shock of the century. To slow down the spread of the virus, the only options were to restrict movement and pause economic activities. In the...

Democractic Erosion in the West Bank

Apr 30, 2021 | Georgia State University Perimeter College

Since the 1967 War Israel has had control over the West Bank and the Palestinian community that resides within it. Due to the lack of civil liberties and human rights for Palestinian people the West...