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...

What the Dobbs Decision and the Feminist Green Wave Mean for Democracy

Dec 19, 2022 | Skidmore College

Common conceptualizations of democracy emphasize the importance of government and institutions in protecting the rights of marginalized people. In a democracy, laws are...

Polarization and the Further Division of Spain

Dec 19, 2022 | SUNY-Binghamton

https://www.gisreportsonline.com/r/divided-spain/ Spain has seen political polarization and country-wide division in its recent history. At the conclusion of Francisco...

Democracy’s enemy within

Apr 7, 2020 | Rollins College

The Economist August 31st 2019 Democracy’s enemy within Cynicism is gnawing at Western democracies Democracies are generally thought to die at the barrel of a gun, in coups and revolutions. These...

Combatting Cynicism: The Great Threat to American Democracy

Apr 7, 2020 | Rollins College

The United States has always been characterized by optimism and progress, embedded in our unalienable rights to Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. Unfortunately, negativity has been slowly...

Targeted Political Ads Aren’t the Only Thing Social Media Uses to Affect Politics

Apr 6, 2020 | Rollins College

A response to “Policing Propaganda.“ The role of social media in politics came to the forefront during the 2016 United States presidential election. Instead of waiting for the headlines and watching...

Social Media Manipulation: The Threat to Democracy and How to Correct it

Apr 6, 2020 | Rollins College

In the Economist article, “Policing Propaganda,” one of the major threats to democracy stems from one of its key supporting agents, the news, or rather through its manipulation, which can alter the...

How digital politics regulation by lawmakers could affect democracy.

Apr 6, 2020 | Rollins College

About a hundred years ago the invention of the telegraph not only facilitated long-distance communication but also did “a lot to clean up politics” as mentioned in the New York Times. It...

Democratic Erosion during National Emergencies: Voting Rights in the United States throughout the COVID-19 Pandemic

Apr 6, 2020 | Boston University

Senators Amy Klobuchar and Ron Wyden recently proposed emergency voting reforms which would allow every U.S. state to expand the use of vote-by-mail. According to Klobuchar, these changes would help...

Resentment and Conspiracy Theories in a Digital Context: An Insight on Online Campaign Regulation

Apr 6, 2020 | Rollins College

In the article “Policing Propaganda” from The Economist, the main topic is online campaigning in the United States and Britain within recent years. Online campaigning is compared to the initial use...

Parasitic Corruption in Democracy: An Intrinsic Examination into how Democracy Allows Populism to Function- A Response to “Democracy’s Enemy Within”

Apr 6, 2020 | Rollins College

In the narrative of the Do’s and Don’ts of governing, Democracy stands as the shining hero and protagonist, as it was designed to give power to citizens, overrule tyrants, and promote equal...

Redefining Ahimsa: Modi’s Use of Religious Violence to Consolidate Power

Apr 6, 2020 | Rollins College

Home to over 1.3 billion people, India’s ability to maintain democratic governance despite long-lasting issues of economic, social and ethnic inequality, is impressive. However, since Narendra...