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.

Are you MAGA, even? How Polarization Ties Into Democratic Erosion

By definition, democracy requires multiple parties to function, but the proudest democracy of the modern age is facing issues as a direct result. The United States is currently experiencing one of its most politically polarizing climates in history, resulting in...

How Recent Discriminatory Kansas Legislation is Accelerating Democratic Backsliding in the U.S.

As Kansas’s discriminatory SB 244 becomes law, America is closer than ever to abandoning democracy and becoming a competitive oligarchy.

Fear Wins Votes: Trump’s Violations and Consistent Support

This blog evaluates how Donald Trump’s political success stems from his use of fear-based rhetoric and polarization, which reshape voter priorities, weaken democratic accountability, and allow violations of democratic norms to occur without consequence.

Authoritarianism and its Effect on the European Union and Democracy

May 8, 2024 | Ursinus College

Authoritarian rule around the world is consistently a danger to democracy, world peace, and many civil liberties and political rights. Such civil liberties and...

The Democratic Struggle in Haiti

May 8, 2024 | Ursinus College

The recent gang related events in Haiti have spiraled out of control. The state lacked the capacity and power to prevent such gang activity. Haiti has long had the formal...

“Court-Packing” and Saving American Democracy

Oct 23, 2020 | University of Chicago

On December 21, 2018, news organizations ran abuzz with a bomb report — Ruth Bader Ginsburg had been re-diagnosed with cancer. The BBC published this headline: Ruth Bader Ginsburg: Liberal America...

Threats to the Judiciary in the United States: Looking Beyond the Executive

Oct 23, 2020 | University of Chicago

Despite not having grown up in the US, for virtually all my life I’ve heard about the robustness of American democracy, including –...

North Korea as a Populist Regime

Oct 23, 2020 | University of Chicago

The political structure of a country is often presented on a spectrum; it is the degree of democracy or autocracy rather than a dichotomous classification. [1] For sure, many scholars have argued...

The Paradox of Trump’s Middle Class Supporters

Oct 23, 2020 | University of Chicago

In his 1959 book “Some Social Requisites of Democracy,” American sociologist and democratic theorist Seymour Lipset advanced a model of what made certain democracies stable and others unstable. He...

Even Justice Under Law

Oct 23, 2020 | University of Chicago

After the passing of Justice Scalia in 2016, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell announced that the Senate would not consider any nomination until a new president was elected. Democrats were...

Packing the Court and the Future of Voting Rights in the U.S.

Oct 22, 2020 | University of Chicago

On Monday, the Supreme Court split four to four in a decision on whether Pennsylvania absentee ballots received up to three days after election day could be counted, allowing...

COVID-19 and the Serbian Case

Oct 22, 2020 | University of Chicago

“One of the great ironies of how democracies die is that the very defense of democracy is often used as a pretext for its subversion.” This line from Steven Levitsky and Daniel Ziblatt’s book How...

Will Ukraine’s President Zelenskiy Learn From His Predecessors?

Oct 22, 2020 | University of Chicago

The Ukrainian people have been through a lot. According to a 2019 Pew Poll, 81% of Ukrainians see a fair judicial system as one of the most important priorities, nevertheless, promises of judicial...

Political Polarization and the American Democracy

Oct 22, 2020 | University of Chicago

In the United States, the people want democracy. In fact, recent work by the Pew Research Center finds that "while Americans generally agree on democratic ideals and values [...] they see the...