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.

The Erosion of an Already Weak Democracy: The Rise and Fall of Jovenel Moïse

Jovenel Moïse's presidency marked a dangerous shift from Haiti's already shaky democracy to overt authoritarianism. Delayed elections, unchecked abuse of executive power, and violent suppression of resistance became the norm. By the time of his assassination in 2021,...

Undermining the Feedback Loop: How Trump’s Educational Policies Hinder Democratic Accountability

In a larger trend of censoring opinions which the Trump administration views as undesirable, the Trump administration’s actions towards schools and universities has a negative impact on democracy as a whole. Such a system depends on the free transmission of...

Democracy Six Feet Under: How Disinformation is Burying Philippine Democracy Alive

Philippine democracy is in great danger once again now that the two families who benefited the most from disinformation – the Marcoses and Dutertes, are in power and have turned against one another. As both camps sling disinformation against each other, the...

Trump vs The Judiciary: A Brief Spat or a Wider Issue?

Apr 18, 2025 | Boston University

In mid-March, Kilmar Abrego Garcia was deported from the United States under the Alien Enemies Act of 1798. This is despite the fact that Mr. Garcia was barred from being...

Marine Le Pen’s Conviction and the Erosion of Democracy in France

Apr 18, 2025 | Boston University

On the 31st March the leader of the French far-right party (The National Rally), Marine Le Pen, was banned from running in the 2027 presidential election. She was convicted...

Impairing Amparo: How Recent Constitutional Changes Undermine Mexican Democracy

Oct 9, 2024 | Brown University

Journalists and democracy advocates sounded the alarm last month as former Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador spent his final weeks in office pushing forward changes to the country’s...

Abortion Rights Are Fundamental to Democracy. Why Do Democracies Ban It?

Oct 9, 2024 | Brown University

In 2022, the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, concluding that the U.S. Constitution does not provide federal protections for a woman’s right to choose. But in 2023, Mexico’s Supreme Court...

The Threat of JD Vance’s Populism to the Future of America

Oct 9, 2024 | Brown University

JD Vance has been called many things by many people since he was announced as Donald Trump’s Vice Presidential running mate three months ago. He is conservative and Republican, yes, as well as a...

Protecting Children: Populist Logic and the American Right

Oct 9, 2024 | Brown University

Across the United States, socially conservative policies that coalesce around the notion of protecting children have been increasingly proposed and established. From banning books to banning...

How Populism Threatens Georgia’s Alignment With the West

Oct 9, 2024 | Brown University

The 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine sent shockwaves across the West. Long-time geopolitical neutrals Finland and Sweden joined NATO, and many Western countries levied sanctions to cripple the power...

Democracy is Eroding in El Salvador, but Who is Concerned?

Oct 9, 2024 | Brown University

The self-proclaimed “world’s coolest dictator”, Nayib Bukele, won presidential re-election in El Salvador in February of this year, extending his presidency to another five-year term. His landslide...

“Handmaid’s Tale is not a tutorial!”: Reproductive Rights as a Mechanism for Reversing Democratic Backsliding in Poland and the United States

Oct 9, 2024 | Brown University

Before October of 2023, Freedom House described Poland as having “the swiftest democratic decline in the [European] region.” The far-right, nationalist Law and Justice party (PiS) had been in power...

How Nationalism Saves Democracy

Oct 9, 2024 | Brown University

It is in the comforting sound of your mother tongue, the aroma of a home-cooked traditional meal, shared celebrations, and the beauty of our architecture that we find an immediate sense of...

La Ultraderecha: Is Spain’s Vox an Example of Right-Wing Populism?

Oct 9, 2024 | Brown University

On December 17, 2013, Santiago Abascal established the Spanish political organization Vox, which the New York Times describes as “nationalism at its finest” (Source). The organization is notorious...