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.

Combatting Russian Disinformation: Estonia’s Response to the War in Ukraine

Aug 13, 2023 | Arizona State University

Co-authored by Sofia Walsh and David Thompson The war in Ukraine was a central theme in the March 2023 Estonian election. Like Ukraine, Estonia has a fraught history with...

Russian Influence Efforts and the ‘Russophobia’ Narrative in the Baltic States; Evidence from Latvia and Georgia.

Jul 27, 2023 | Arizona State University

Co-Authored by Aiselyn Anaya-Hall and John Kaye Since long before the launch of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, the world, and particularly the...

The Largest Democracy on the brink of becoming an Authoritarian regime: India’s Democratice Erosion.

Dec 11, 2020 | Georgia State University, Georgia State University Perimeter College

BY Cindy Martinez India currently has one of the largest populations, with over 1.3 billion citizens. The country has over 900 million registered voters, making India the largest democracy. However,...

Guinea’s Election Violence: Threats to West African Democracy

Dec 11, 2020 | University of Georgia

The October election that took place in Guinea gave rise to a wave of polarized electorate who have been engaging in a variety of protests, riots, and other forms of civil disobedience in light of...

Cloaked in Democracy by Gideon X Melvin

Dec 11, 2020 | Georgia State University Perimeter College

So why is Zimbabwe still not a bastion for democracy? The white minority rulers were overthrown in 1979 after a guerilla uprising that cleared the way for free and fair elections and the rise of...

Sectarian Politics in Lebanon and Its Relevance to Democracy

Dec 11, 2020 | American University

Lebanon was created by colonialism, which began with the collapse of the Ottoman Empire following World War 1. At the end of the war, in 1920 the League of Nations officially granted France a...

The Failure of Political Parties: Institutions As Gatekeepers in Indonesia’s Democratic System

Dec 11, 2020 | American University

Although many assume democracies die “at the hands of men with guns,” Levitsky and Ziblatt (2018) stress that there are “other ways to break a democracy”, less dramatic but equally effective, via...

Democracy in the Age of Surveillance Capitalism

Dec 11, 2020 | Sabanci University

I believe almost all the casual inferences behind Donald Trump’s victory in 2016 are investigated by your intellectual insight. There might be nothing to investigate left since most of the big...

The Art of the Smear: Georgia Senate 2020

Dec 10, 2020 | Brown University

As tensions rise leading up to the second most important election of the year, citizen discernment and polarization play a crucial role. It’s a late summer evening and I’m standing by the entrance...

The Dark Shadow of Trump’s Lawsuits

Dec 10, 2020 | University of Georgia

Over a month after the Nov. 3 2020 General Election, Donald Trump is still refusing to admit that he lost the election to president-elect Joe Biden. As recently as today, Dec. 10 2020, Trump is...

Government Content Moderation Could Strengthen U.S. Democracy

Dec 10, 2020 | Brown University

Spread over six floors, thousands of employees stare at their computer screens scanning Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube in the middle of a traffic-clogged city. This is a content moderation center,...