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.

Democratic Backsliding in the Philippines and the Power of Fake News

Dec 20, 2022 | SUNY-Binghamton

Since the Philippines became a democratic nation in 1986 following the deposition of theDictator Ferdinand Marcos, the stability of liberal democratic institutions in the...

What the Dobbs Decision and the Feminist Green Wave Mean for Democracy

Dec 19, 2022 | Skidmore College

Common conceptualizations of democracy emphasize the importance of government and institutions in protecting the rights of marginalized people. In a democracy, laws are...

The Necessity for Responsible Reporting on Crime in Mexico

Oct 12, 2020 | Brown University

You may not realize it, but the news media plays an enormous role in shaping how the public views and responds to crime. As Vincent Sacco states in his paper, “Media Constructions of Crime”, the way...

Migrant Caravans, U.S. Intervention, and the Case of Honduras

Oct 12, 2020 | Brown University

AFP/Getty, October 2018 You have likely come across the striking wide-shot, panoramic depictions of a blurred mass of bodies on the move. Blocking entire roads as far as the eye can see and...

Color, Corruption, and COVID-19: South Africa’s Democratic Balancing Act

Oct 12, 2020 | Brown University

A nation’s economy contracts by 51% in three months. Blatant corruption severely undermines the legitimacy of a country’s most prominent political party. Racial unrest and an increasingly fraught...

An Alternative to Militarization: Building Public Infrastructure to Fight Crime

Oct 12, 2020 | Brown University

The intuitive approach to deterring criminal behavior is to punish it. But what if legal behavior were instead incentivized such that criminal activity lost some of its relative appeal? Years of...

Negotiating with MS-13: Pragmatism, Corruption, or Both?

Oct 12, 2020 | Brown University

Outrage, shock and dismay greeted the publication of a report from El Faro news site claiming that El Salvador’s President Nayib Bukele “cut deals” with the Mara Salvatrucha gang (MS-13) in order to...

AMLO’s Amnesty Proposal: How Government Pardon in Mexico Adds Fuel to the Fire

Oct 10, 2020 | Brown University

Mere weeks before assuming office as the President of Mexico, Andrés Manuel López Obrador, often referred to as AMLO, published an eight-pillared plan for the construction of a peaceful future for...

Opal Tometi’s NYU Webinar

Oct 8, 2020 | Suffolk University

In the past few years, Black Lives Matter has grown from a simple Facebook hashtag to one of the worlds most powerful and provocative activist groups. Their mission to shed light on the...

The Curse of the Weimar Republic

Jul 31, 2020 | University of California, Davis

World War II is regarded as the deadliest war in history, showing the abominable consequences of totalitarian regimes and establishing global tensions that still exist today. The war ended more than...

Grappling with the Legacy of Evo Morales and the Future of Bolivian Democracy

Jun 9, 2020 | Arizona State University

On November 10, 2019, facing claims of election fraud and demands from the country’s military for his resignation, Bolivian President Evo Morales stepped down, after almost 14 years at the head of...