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.

How Trump and his federal forces are using America’s polarization problem to dismantle American democracy

America is suffering from intense affective polarization, and Trump is using this polarization and federal forces to diminish important avenues for horizontal accountability, vertical accountability, and resistance.

Indefinite Term Limits: How Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele is Further Entrenching His Power

Salvadoran president Nayib Bukele aims to entrench his executive power through the introduction of indefinite term limits.

A 50-Year Sentence for Facebook Posts: The Implications of Section 112

A record 50-year sentence for Facebook posts in Thailand exposes how Section 112 transforms political expression into criminal offense and accelerates the country’s democratic collapse by shielding royal authority from scrutiny.

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...

Democracy in Decay:

May 8, 2024 | American University

Analyzing Democratic Backsliding in Narendra Modi’s India India is one of the world's most diverse and populated nations, with a revolutionary past and a promising future of...

Virtual and Conventional Civil Society in Belarus

Apr 9, 2021 | American University

Protestors took to the streets to oppose the fraudulent election of “Europe’s Last Dictator” Alexander Lukashenko in the 2020 Belarusian presidential elections. Their defiance of the Lukashenko...

#VotoApruebo: How National Referenda Are Saving Chile’s Democracy

Apr 9, 2021 | American University

On October 25th, 2020, millions of Chileans at home and abroad voted overwhelmingly in favor of scrapping the 1980 Constitution. Furthermore, the populous voted in favor of establishing a...

Dissing Democracy

Apr 8, 2021 | American University

Nations known for defending and promoting liberal ideals are now dissing democracy. The latest Freedom House figures are shocking. From our perch in the West, we are witnessing a train smash in the...

The Re-Election of Nguyễn Phú Trọng and Its Implications for Vietnam

Apr 6, 2021 | Georgia State University

Vietnam is a country with an authoritarian and non-democratic regime, led solely by the Communist Party of Vietnam (CPV). Yet, unlike other authoritarian models of governments often spearheaded by...

The Dangerous Temptations of Gerrymandering

Apr 6, 2021 | Rollins College

To what lengths should one go to preserve the soul of their nation? As discussed by Russell Berman, the Democrats have an opportunity to protect their majority in the House of Representatives before...

What Is Populism? Is Donald Trump a Populist? How Does It Impact Democracy?

Apr 6, 2021 | Rollins College

Only 4 days after Election Day, with Joe Biden as the projected winner, Trump supporters took to the streets and social media in opposition. Despite Bidens’ win, Trump and his supporters have left...

Does the United States Serve as a Guide for Democracy?

Apr 6, 2021 | Rollins College

After President Joe Biden called for a Global Democracy Summit, other nations questioned the United States’ authority as a guide for democracy given its broken state. The United States and other...

COVID-19: Deadly Virus and Threat to Democracy

Apr 6, 2021 | Rollins College

For just over a year the world has been swept up in a pandemic. This pandemic has affected nearly every person on Earth in some way or another. According to the Economist in The Pandemic has Eroded...