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.

Learning From Silvio Berlusconi’s Reign Over Media

Dec 21, 2022 | Boston University

Precursors In Italian journalism, clearly defined political stances take precedence over objective reporting. Radiotelevisione Italiana (RAI), the country’s state-owned...

Covertly Culpable: The Role of Political Norms, Parties, and Legal Institutions in Democratic Erosion

Dec 20, 2022 | University of Denver

It is difficult to understand why a country’s leader would erode the same system that elected him or her to power. One would assume a person would have great respect for and...

There Is No Democracy Without Reparations

Oct 14, 2020 | Northeastern University

The United States is not a democracy. Though some tout the US as a beacon of representative democracy in the world where economic prosperity is all but guaranteed to those who seek it, those people...

Lebanon Ongoing Crisis

Oct 14, 2020 | University of Georgia

On October 13, 1990, major factions all around Lebanon who have been trying to seize control of the country since 1975, signed a historic peace deal between each other. Throughout Lebanon’s history...

Trump’s Proud Boys Invocation Signals Escalation in Authoritarianism

Oct 13, 2020 | University of Georgia

The president’s recent invocation of The Proud Boys at the presidential debate is an escalation in the erosion of democratic norms by appealing directly to a violent street politics group. This...

American Democracy, Be Thankful Trump Isn’t a Real Economic Populist

Oct 13, 2020 | Brown University

As President Trump’s authoritarian tendencies have pushed the U.S. into a period of democratic uncertainty unrivaled in its modern history, it feels as though the situation has regressed to a level...

Ban on TikTok and WeChat: Did President Trump Overstep His Powers?

Oct 13, 2020 | Northeastern University

Prior to the last month, TikTok was known, for the most part, simply as a platform for teenagers to post silly videos of themselves lip-syncing and performing comedy skits. Within the past few...

The Death of Ruth Bader Ginsburg and the Power of Supreme Court Nominations

Oct 13, 2020 | University of Georgia

The legendary Supreme Court justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg died at age 87 on Sept. 18, 2020. Americans lost a powerful, strong woman who stood up for women’s rights, as the Republicans are expected to...

“Everyone Judges According to Themselves” – Polish Authoritarianism and Constitutional Erosion

Oct 13, 2020 | University of Georgia

Polish Democracy: Dancing with the Wolves 1989 was a year like no other in recent memory for many countries in Eastern Europe, and this was especially true in Poland. The Iron Curtain was falling,...

Is the BJP Consolidating Power?: A Case Study in Tamil Nadu Politics

Oct 13, 2020 | University of Georgia

Over the past six years India has seen the rise of the BJP, India’s center-right party. In the 2014 elections, the BJP’s coalition won the majority of seats in the Lok Sabha (India’s lower chamber),...

It Takes Two: Threats From Both Parties Have Turned the Supreme Court Into a Political Chess Match

Oct 13, 2020 | University of Georgia

Dating back to Chief Justice John Marshall’s revolutionary decision in Marbury v. Madison (1803), the United States Supreme Court has actively avoided being used as a pawn in political...