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.

What has PiS done to the one-time democratic-front runner, Poland, in the name of Democracy?

Jan 6, 2023 | Sabanci University

Democracy has been specified as the fundamental reason for the long-unseen historical record of the reign of peace. Today, the world is experiencing a major threat to...

How Democratic Backsliding Hurts Elections? The Case of Orban’s Victory in 2022 Hungary General Elections

Jan 6, 2023 | Sabanci University

Hungary was seen as the success story of democratization among post-communist countries. When Orbán won the majority in 2010, democratic backsliding indicators came out...

Conservative Gatekeeping of the United States Supreme Court

Oct 23, 2020 | University of Chicago

Right wing, conservative senators are gatekeeping the Supreme Court, in a way that they failed to during the political rise of President Donald Trump in the 2016 presidential primaries. [1] Focused...

The Case of Alexei Navalny: A Study in Mutual Tolerance, Non-Political Crimes, and Surveillance

Oct 23, 2020 | University of Chicago

At the end of August, while returning from campaigning for local elections in the Siberian city of Tomsk, Russian opposition figure and anti-corruption activist Alexei Navalny fell violently ill....

Takes Two to Tango: How the Democratic Elites Have Fueled Trump’s Fire

Oct 23, 2020 | University of Chicago

The 25th amendment, allows for a sitting President’s powers to be suspended if they become unfit for office. Section 4, which can suspend Presidential power without the sitting President’s consent,...

An Attack on Democracy in the Name of Bipartisanship

Oct 23, 2020 | University of Chicago

It is clear that increasing partisanship correlates with democratic erosion. Matthew Graham and Milan Svolik, in a candidate-choice experiment, found that US voters who identified with a certain...

Covert Erosion in the Czech Republic

Oct 23, 2020 | University of Chicago

Andrej Babiš outwardly does not appear to have the firmest grasp on power in the Czech Republic. The embattled billionaire Prime Minister has faced potential votes of no confidence, an investigation...

The Fight for Democracy in Belarus

Oct 23, 2020 | University of Chicago

On August 9, 2020, Belarus held its presidential election. This is the first time in many decades where the current president, Alexander Lukashenko, has been seriously challenged by an opposition...

Icarus from Ipanema: The Fatal Mistake of the Brazilian Left

Oct 23, 2020 | University of Chicago

Allying an anti-corruption and anti-communism discourse with a vague desire for change, Jair Messias Bolsonaro won the turbulent 2018 Brazilian presidential election, surpassing movements like...

A Greene-er Democracy

Oct 23, 2020 | University of Chicago

Amongst the constant chaos that has been this year’s election cycle, it’s easy to miss Marjorie Taylor Greene’s primary win. This past August, Greene beat her Republican primary opponent by 15...

“We Have Had Enough, We Do Not Want to Be Like You”

Oct 23, 2020 | University of Chicago

Last Wednesday Spain reached 1 million Covid-19 cases and the numbers are steadily rising. With official government sources admitting that the real data might be even higher -around 3.5 million...