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.

Felon Disenfranchisement and Subversion of the Black Electorate

Apr 27, 2023 | University of Utah

Beginning after Reconstruction—when Black men were granted the right to vote—the implementation of voter disenfranchisement laws crept across the United States in the form...

Libel Suits are an Effective Legal Tool to Combat Disinformation

Apr 26, 2023 | University of Utah

The spread of disinformation related to the Big Lie conspiracy perpetuated by Trump, and his allies, including Right-wing media networks, helped spur the 'Stop the Steal...

A Civil Liberty For All?: The Truth About Voter Suppression

Nov 22, 2020 | Suffolk University

Voter turnout has been studied for decades. Demographics of voting and registered voters changes with every election, presidential or not, each vote is counted for a statistic. Now, in saying that,...

Trump and Democratic Backsliding in the United States

Nov 22, 2020 | Northeastern University

President Trump is a major source of democratic backsliding in the U.S.; it is time that he accepts defeat in the 2020 election. “What they’re doing is using COVID to steal an election. They’re...

The Slow Decline of Tunisian Democracy

Nov 22, 2020 | Suffolk University

On December 18th, 2010, a Tunisian street vendor named Mohamed Bouazizi set himself on fire in response to the confiscation of his wares and the harassment and humiliation inflicted upon him by...

Is the Electoral College Truly a Representation of the United States People?

Nov 22, 2020 | Suffolk University

On November 3rd, the entire United States and other countries looked towards the government, focusing on President Donald Trump and Candidate Joe Biden. Ballot counting, electoral college votes, and...

The Electoral College and Why It Has To Go

Nov 22, 2020 | Suffolk University

On September 17th, 1787, delegates of the Constitutional Convention ratified the United States Constitution, making it the official framework for the United States Government. Though the term...

Democrats vs. Republicans Shouldn’t Be a Sports Match, and Yet…

Nov 22, 2020 | Northeastern University

Donald J. Trump lost his re-election campaign for President of the United States. This is a fact. As of now, former Vice-President Joe Biden has received almost 80 million votes to Trump’s nearly 74...

From Shirley Chisholm to Kamala Harris: An Impossible Inception to a Realized Inspiration

Nov 22, 2020 | Suffolk University

As all of the United States, let alone many foreign countries around the globe waited on an official vote count, which ended four days later, the world would finally know which political party the...

A Civil President

Nov 21, 2020 | Suffolk University

It was the afternoon of Saturday November 7th I was walking down the street when I unexpectedly got involved in the most exciting civic engagement of recent days. It was an unusually warm,...

How Mis/Disinformation Plagues Political Protests

Nov 21, 2020 | Suffolk University

Speaking as a teenager in the United States, it is safe to say I spend a lot of my time on social media platforms such as Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, etcetera. Currently, I have been seeing many...