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.

You Are Never Supposed to Matter: How Philippine Democracy Excludes You by Design

The Philippine democracy is a broken system dominated by political dynasties, weak party structures, and flawed electoral rules—leaving voters disempowered and meaningful change nearly impossible.

The Price of Press: Exposing the Fragility of Philippine Media In the 2025 Senatorial Elections

Lights, Camera, Action—A line that we usually hear in show business and filmmaking. In this industry, actors desperately compete to get their much-desired “screen time,” show their potential, and eventually get to the top. However, in the Philippines, this is not just...

There’s no Greater Riches than (Extended Political) Families: Filipinos’ Pakikisama and the Perpetuation of Political Dynasties in the Philippines

Filipinos place utmost importance on their families, the foundation of our nation. Hence, despite not having a working party system, the Philippines have perdurable political dynasties, turning Philippine politics into a sempiternal family affair.

Timor-Leste’s Firm Stance on Myanmar Driven by Values

Oct 5, 2023 | School of Public Policy, Chiang Mai University

Photo 1: Source by Myanmar's military placed heavy restrictions on the internet ahead of the protests (BBC News) Timor-Leste's Support for Fairness and Human Rights in...

The Role of NGOs and CSOs in Democracy

Oct 4, 2023 | School of Public Policy, Chiang Mai University

Non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and civil society organizations (CSOs) are exercising vital roles in promoting and encouraging democracy. They act as a third party...

Thailand’s Hypocrisy: A Case Study of Stealth Authoritarianism

Oct 23, 2020 | University of Chicago

Though the Thai government does not necessarily hide its autocratic tendencies, it is far from willing to let go of the democratic label. On October 15th 2020, after three months of student-led...

Unions and Political Representation: How the Decline of Collective Bargaining Threatens Democracy

Oct 23, 2020 | University of Chicago

In the United States, union membership has set a national standard – a north star – for employee protections, labor rights, and political organization in the workplace. However, since the 1980’s,...

The Danger of Trump’s Rhetoric in American Democracy

Oct 23, 2020 | University of Chicago

In 2016, a man with no political experience and little political support was elected president of the United States. Previously, no president had been elected without a background in government or...

Constitutional Hardball and the United States Supreme Court

Oct 23, 2020 | University of Chicago

In their seminal work How Democracies Die, Steven Levitsky and Daniel Ziblatt identify two principal constitutional guardrails that, they argue, have allowed democracy to survive in the United...

The End of Nicaraguan Democracy

Oct 23, 2020 | University of Chicago

In 1984, Daniel Ortega of the Sandinista National Liberation Front (FSLN) won the presidency after having overthrown the almost ten-year dictatorship of Anastasio Somoza Debayle. Ortega served one...

The Threat Against Democracy in the Era of “Fake News”

Oct 23, 2020 | University of Chicago

In 2016, American trust of mass media was at an all-time low. Gallup found that of 1,020 adult Americans surveyed, 32% reported having a “great deal/fair amount” of trust in the media. When sorted...

The Fourth Estate: Democracy, Journalism, and the Social Media Age

Oct 23, 2020 | University of Chicago

According to James Carey, "without journalism there is no democracy, but without democracy there is no journalism either.” In other words, the ability of journalism to inform citizens of a...

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....