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.

These blogs reflect the views of the student authors, and not those of the Democratic Erosion Consortium.

Ordinary Americans rescue democracy

Do Americans have what it takes to save democracy? Irrefutably, the answer is yes. The second Trump administration has engaged in a variety of measures to steamroll the opposition. Abetted by a subservient Republican party, empowered by a complacent Supreme Court,...

President Trump Attacks News Agencies Through Legal Means

President Trump has been attacking our democracy through legal means by suing news agencies and journalist.

Epstein’s Files Are More Than Files, They Are A Signal Of Democratic Erosion

In a June 2024 Fox News interview, then presidential candidate Donald Trump claimed that when in office, he would support the release of the full Epstein files. These files pertain to convicted sex trafficker Jefferey Epstein. Epstein was a financier who pleaded...

The Only Tzar in the Castle: The Consolidation of Putin’s Rule

May 8, 2024 | Ursinus College

When most think of strongmen, it is often the caricature of Vladmir Putin that comes to mind. A ruthless leader who invokes a rhetoric of nationalism, “traditional values”,...

What Do the 2024 Indian Elections Mean for the Future of the World’s Largest Democracy?

May 8, 2024 | Ursinus College

On April 19, 2024, citizens of India, the world’s largest democracy, will start to participate in the Lok Sabha elections. The Lok Sabha is the lower of the two houses that...

Political Polarization in the Social (Distancing) Media Era

Oct 30, 2020 | University of Chicago

On March 19,2020 the first stay at home orders were announced in response to the Covid-19 virus[1] and within the next few weeks millions of Americans stocked up on essentials and locked themselves...

The Colorado Party and Stealth Authoritarianism: Today’s El Stronato

Oct 29, 2020 | Williams College

The Western media has been hyper-focused on the American presidential election, and rightfully so. American media outlets have much domestic material to discuss as polarization increases throughout...

The Liberal Dilemma

Oct 28, 2020 | Georgia State University

It has long been established that the two-party system is here to stay. A historical precedent, starting with the federalist debate, set the long reigning two-party system. With no shortage of...

The Resurrection of Mas as a Step Towards Democratic Stability in Bolivia

Oct 27, 2020 | University of Chicago

Last weekend, on October 18th, Luis Arce of the Movimiento al Socialismo (Mas) party won the Bolivian presidential election by a comfortable margin and Jeanine Anez, the evangelical leader of the...

Top of the Pops: The Populist Reality Show Star with the Lowest Approval

Oct 26, 2020 | Georgia State University

How can we classify the self-pitched-Playboy-Cover-model son of a wealthy, racist real estate developer as a populist when he is neither like the people he claims to represent nor does he enact...

Uprising in Belarus: Protesting Is a Universal Language

Oct 26, 2020 | Georgia State University

In 1966, just two short years before his life would be taken by the infuriated opposition, Martin Luther King, Jr. said in an interview, when asked about “Black Power,” that “a riot is the language...

The Mansfield Blue Wave

Oct 25, 2020 | Suffolk University

Democracy is at its most fragile during times of war, terrorism, and elections. The United States just happens to be at a crossroads of all three. With constant war being funded in the Middle East...

Misperception Is Reality: The Psychology of Political Polarization in the United States

Oct 25, 2020 | Suffolk University

Americans are not as polarized as we think we are. A new report from Beyond Conflict, a non-profit that leverages research from cognitive and behavioral science to address issues of conflict...

BLM Insight from Co-Founder Opal Tometi: How A Hashtag Led To A Worldwide Race Movement

Oct 25, 2020 | Suffolk University

One of the brains behind the Black Lives Matter movement and Human rights activist Opal Tometi was invited by NYU for a webinar hosted by professors Pamela Newkirk and Deborah Wills on October 7,...