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 If It Was Lebron James: Brittney Griner’s Release and the Bigger Picture

Dec 17, 2022 | Skidmore College

If it were Lebron James or Tom Brady, the United States would have gone to war. What should be celebrated as a win for America, the release of wrongfully detained WNBA star...

Protesting in Mitch McConnell’s Backyard

Dec 17, 2022 | Suffolk University

On June 24th, 2022 the United States Supreme Court issued one of the most controversial decisions in its two centuries of existence. Supreme Court - Source: Unsplash This...

The Anti-Apartheid Movement: A Case Study of Finkel’s “The Phoenix Effect of State Repression”

May 9, 2020 | American University

In "The Phoenix Effect of State Repression: Jewish Resistance during the Holocaust" Evgeny Finkel argued that rebel groups that have been forced underground in the past learn the “resister’s...

Viability of the Virtually Organized Protests in Hong Kong

May 9, 2020 | American University

Photo: Danish Siddiqui, December 8, 2019, Reuters.1 In “’Conventional’ and ‘Virtual’ Civil Societies in Autocratic Regimes” Mark Beissinger argues that protests that mobilize people mainly via...

How Denmark Remains Above the Fray

May 9, 2020 | Georgia State University

There has been much discussion over the past few years on the best ways to stop democratic erosion, especially democratic erosion in countries with solid constitutional principles and consistent...

The Prespa Agreement: A New Hope for Macedonian Democracy?

May 9, 2020 | Koç University

In June 2018, an important agreement was reached between Macedonia and Greece, solving the legal name dispute between the two neighbors. As a consequence of the agreement, Macedonia acknowledged...

Venezuela’s Democratic Decline

May 7, 2020 | American University

Venezuela was once a wealthy country known for its strong constitutional democracy and peaceful shifts of power but collapsed under Higo Chavez’s misguides regime. Under Venezuela’s current...

Democratic Dreams in Georgia

May 7, 2020 | American University

Under any circumstance a flawed election can be an uncharacteristic setback in democracy. The amount of democratic electoral systems around the world attempt to maintain equity between mathematical...

Stop Waiting on the Feeling, There Isn’t One: Democratic Backsliding in the United States by Jessamyn Lockett

May 6, 2020 | Georgia State University Perimeter College

Forget the clickbait: President Donald J. Trump and the Republican party are unraveling the democratic process in the United States, just because you cannot “feel” it,...

Brian Kemp: The Mastermind Behind Voter Suppression by Adriana Moreno

May 6, 2020 | Georgia State University, Georgia State University Perimeter College

When you think about Democratic Erosion, you usually think about countries, but the threat has always been at home and polarizing at the state level. We have reached a new troubling time in our...

For Hungary, the Coronavirus is a Chance to Secure Ultimate Power by Cristen Canavino

May 6, 2020 | Georgia State University Perimeter College

For most people, it is virtually impossible to view the Coronavirus pandemic as anything but catastrophic, but for Hungary’s Prime Minister, Viktor Orban, the Coronavirus provides him with a unique...