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.

Arresting Opposition and Squashing Protests: Democratic Backsliding in Turkey Under Erdoğan

Turkey has been inching towards autocracy under Erdoğan and the AKP for the last 22 years.

2025 Romanian Elections: An Election Redo and a Barred Candidate

Only two weeks out from Presidential Elections, Romanian voters face a tough decision in deciding on the next leader of their country. The latest opinion polls show that nearly 40% of voters are still undecided on who to vote for. After all, most voters already cast...

Why Protecting American Democracy Means Coming Together In Protest

In the lead up to the 2020 presidential election, the Democratic Erosion Consortium's very own professors Robert Blair and Steven Rosenzweig wrote an article in The Boston Globe urging readers to “Get ready to protest like democracy depends on it.” The article was in...

Does Media Coverage of Corruption Help Populists?

Dec 27, 2022 | Skidmore College

Earlier this month, right-wing nationalist Benjamin Netanyahu returned to power in Israel, despite facing multiple federal corruption charges. Many Israelis have expressed...

Is it Elon Musk, Twitter, or the Already Growing Populism in the US?

Dec 27, 2022 | Sabanci University

Blog Post The Case of Hunter Biden’s Laptop Elon Musk recently bought Twitter, a social media platform that has over 200 million users worldwide. After his purchase Musk...

Protecting Health Care and First Responder Hero’s. What about the Homeless Citizen?

Apr 19, 2020 | Suffolk University

In a time of crisis, it truthfully shows how we all take care of our own. In the midst of a disaster, panic often causes hysteria among a group of individuals. This said disaster is COVID-19, first...

How can Americans Know How to Flatten the Curve When the Experts are so Inconsistent?

Apr 19, 2020 | Suffolk University

This unprecedented Coronavirus pandemic has caused the world to abandon life as they know it and adapt to new norms. Physical distancing, which prohibits hanging out in groups, has become the new...

Washington Saving Face and Not Its People: The Dismissal of Navy Captain Crozier and Other Cases

Apr 19, 2020 | Suffolk University

Navy Captain Brett Crozier addressing his crew in 2019 As of today, the world continues to be shut down as the entire international community scrambles to fight COVID-19, a fight that has become a...

Joe Kennedy: Middlesex Virtual Town Hall meeting on Zoom

Apr 17, 2020 | Suffolk University

In the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic all public events have been cancelled. Millions of Americans are now working from home and it hasn’t been...

California’s response to COVID19

Apr 17, 2020 | Suffolk University

There are several levels to which California responded to the crisis. The state, the county, and national guidelines have differed from each other. The President has been trying to go against what...

A Threat to the Integrity of Institutions Is a Threat to Legitimacy

Apr 16, 2020 | Suffolk University

In this modern age, legitimacy faces two major threats. Political authority overreach and cyber attacks are the modern threats to legitimacy. A threat to the integrity of institutions is a threat to...

The Powers of the Imperial Presidency

Apr 15, 2020 | Georgia State University

The current political state of American politics has resulted in an overall concern that our democracy is in crisis. Contemporary concern of an unresponsive political system aimed towards addressing...

Unprecedented Times of the Novel Coronavirus: How’s New Hampshire handling it?

Apr 14, 2020 | Suffolk University

We are all in the midst of unprecedented, uncertain, and worrisome times with the transition to remote learning for high schools and universities, business closures, and the implementation of...

CHILE: This generation is calling for more. Are you listening??

Apr 14, 2020 | Georgia State University

“Education is not for sale” The recent, collected activism of Chile’s dedicated and ambitious students and young adults stands in confident contradiction to the nation’s recently-earned reputation...