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.

South Africa: Lack of Political Participation Enables Democratic Backsliding

Nov 27, 2022 | Boston University

South Africa is a well-known country around the world that is often studied by political scientists because of its complicated history under apartheid and segregation and...

Myanmar: Exhibit A of the Danger of Military Rule

Nov 27, 2022 | Boston University

While the international community holds various broad examples of the inherent flaws in military institutions in government, Myanmar’s short history of democracy blows any...

Money in Politics: The Effort to Revitalize the Mid-South Coliseum and Fairgrounds by Hanna McCarthy

Apr 4, 2020 | University of Memphis

*Photo by Toby Sells, Creative Commons Zero License On February 18, 2020 the Memphis City Council held a public meeting in which one significant agenda item was to discuss development plans for the...

The Populist Parties

Apr 4, 2020 | University of Memphis

The Recent Democratic Primary Debate in South Carolina and the success of Bernie Sanders and Joe Biden are showing signs that the Democratic Party is beginning to split between moderates and...

India’s actions in Kashmir: Backsliding in the World’s Largest Democracy

Apr 4, 2020 | Georgia State University

Courtesy of Kashmir Global Kashmir is one of the most militarized places on Earth, caught between two nuclear-armed powers. In recent years, unrest in India-administered Kashmir is frequent and has...

Tennessee Governor Bill Lee’s State of the State Address: The Heartbeat Bill Promotes Polarization

Apr 2, 2020 | University of Memphis

On Thursday, February 13, 2020, Tennessee’s Republican governor Bill Lee delivered his State of the State address for West Tennessee at Lane College in Jackson, Tennessee. While his address focused...

Have you ever been to a city council meeting?

Apr 2, 2020 | University of Memphis

The seat of government for an entire city considering the passage or failure of new ideas in a meeting that is open to the public…has an audience of 12-15 citizens? Sounds crazy, but it is true. To...

Vladimir Putin: A President for Life?

Apr 2, 2020 | Boston University

2024. The year Vladimir Putin is supposed to step down from power after more than two decades of serving as both President and Prime Minister. After rising to power in the 1990s as a...

Is America Experiencing Democratic Backsliding?

Mar 30, 2020 | Georgia State University

Trump’s presidency has been questioned by many since the beginning. However, it is the recent impeachment trial that has forced more and more people to ask the question if democracy is being...

Minority Parties Win Power, Not Inclusion, in Lithuania

Mar 30, 2020 | American University

In 2016, the populist Lithuanian Farmers and Greens Union (LVŽS) took center stage in Lithuanian politics after unexpectedly winning a plurality in the legislative Seimas (Navickas 2017). The...

Gerrymandering – Democratic erosion from the bottom up?

Mar 29, 2020 | Georgia State University

Last summer, the supreme court refused to strike down the practice of partisan gerrymandering. While it is widely considered one of the least democratic aspects of the United States, it is also one...