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.

Fighting Fake News: Lessons from the World’s Top Target

2018 was a year of awakening in Taiwan. Two high-profile events threw the consequences of fake news into relief. First, Su Chii-cherng, the envoy to Osaka for the Taipei Economic and Cultural Office, took his own life in September 2018 after false reports about him...

Can Democracies Wait Another 2,500 Years to Meet Today’s Needs?

In 500 BC, during Athens' golden age of democracy, the voting age was set at 18. Over 2,500 years later, this threshold remains the same in the vast majority (90%) of countries. However, as democracies grapple with rising populism, authoritarianism, marginalization of...

Présidence Impériale: Executive Aggrandizement in Macron’s France

Amidst significant challenges to France’s democracy, President Emmanuel Macron has ignored democratic norms and abused constitutional articles to expand his own power—periling France’s democracy.

Redrawing the Lines: Issue 1, Political Polarization between Ohio Voters

Ohio State University

Through the Franklin County Democratic party, I had the opportunity to participate in several canvasing events this past month. On October 11th and 12th I canvased the...

Duking-it-Out: How an Ohio Group Promotes Dialogue in their Polarized Community

Ohio State University

The League of Women Voters of Northern Portage County (LWVNPC), a small, hyperlocal voting rights and civic engagement group, operates at the edge of the Cleveland suburbs,...

The Divisive Force of Technological Polarization: Understanding the TikTok Ban

Georgia State University

In the ever-evolving landscape of social media platforms, TikTok has captivated millions with its short-form videos and trend-setting content. However, beneath its entertaining surface lies a...

Sall’s Stealth Authoritarian: Senegal’s Election Delay

Ursinus College

Senegal has been a democracy since 1960 when it first gained independence. It is one of the only countries in Africa to have never suffered a coup since their independence. Now, in the past month,...

Mythological history is undermining democracy: Considering a 2024 Trump Reelection

American University

Trump winning reelection in 2024 poses an extreme threat to democracy because of the damage already done through his increasingly authoritarian discourse. Normalizing a lie through repetition...

The Houthis Campaign Against Corruption is a Threat to Yemen’s Survival

American University

Houthis promote their own agenda at the expense of the Yemen Yemen has long suffered from the effects of European colonization as well as religious and cultural divides between its north and south....

Make Sweden Great Again: How Can We Understand Populism in Sweden?

Uncategorized, William Jewell College

Sweden presents an especially interesting case in the study of democratic erosion. How does a country that scored 100/100 on Freedom House in 2023 find itself at the forefront of criticism...

Venezuela: Two leaders, one resource, no democracy

William Jewell College

The story of Venezuela’s descent into autocracy is not one tale; it is two stories linked together by little more than a transfer of power and an overreliance upon the volatile oil industry to...

Democratic Erosion in Turkey Can Help Us Understand the Importance of Protecting Institutions in the Face of Extreme Polarization

Uncategorized, William Jewell College

For the first time since Democracy’s Third Wave in the late 20th century, the number of countries transitioning into democracies has been recently met with the same amount of countries backsliding,...

The Subtle Threat: Unraveling the Power of Propaganda in Modern Democracies

American University

In today's complex information landscape, the insidious influence of propaganda poses a significant threat to the health of democracies worldwide. While often overlooked or dismissed as a relic of...

Why Iranian Elections Don’t Matter Anymore

Sabanci University

Elections in Iran used to be quite competitive and consequential. However, the democratic elements of the regime were successively weakened and even moderate former President Rouhani is prevented...

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