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.

Germany Begins Discussions Entering a New Era of Worldwide Democracy

Nov 27, 2022 | Boston University

The Futures Forum On November 3, 2022, Germany hosted the inaugural Futures Forum in Muenster. The U.S. took part in the forum as part of a joint effort agreed upon in July...

How Populism Let the Political Wing of a Terrorist Organization Win in Northern Ireland

Nov 27, 2022 | Boston University

In May 2022, Sinn Féin, Northern Ireland’s largest nationalist party, won the most seats in the Northern Ireland Assembly, marking the first time a nationalist party in...

Democratic Erosion in the US: Is It Happening?

Feb 23, 2020 | Georgia State University

The United States has, for centuries now, been the pillar of democracy in the world, but that does not make it immune to the erosion of democracy. Democratic erosion is the process by which...

Witness Dismissals Following the Impeachment Trial

Feb 21, 2020 | Boston University

In a wide view of American politics, the presidency of Donald Trump has seemingly allowed the country’s state of democracy to fall into a decline. Even prior to his impeachment trial, the world...

NO MAS! Bolivian Political Crisis

Feb 18, 2020 | Georgia State University

Is there more democratic erosion under President Morales’s leadership or under the current interim president, Jeanine Anez? The former indigenous president, Evo Morales, was recently (in late 2019)...

Is Trump’s Acquittal by the Senate Another Step Towards Democratic Erosion?

Feb 14, 2020 | Boston University

It’s been clear since the moment Trump announced his campaign that political norms would be thrown out the window. From his brash and brazen tweets, to his refusal to release his tax returns as a...

The Impeachment Trial: An Example of American Democracy Dying

Feb 14, 2020 | Boston University

Partisanship and polarization is killing democracy in the United States. Excessive polarization results in partisanship encroaching in institutions that are designed to maintain the system of checks...

Ireland’s Three-Way Tie is a Loss for Centrism and Win for Populism: Paving the Way for Democratic Erosion

Feb 13, 2020 | Boston University

Photo by Anna Church on Unsplash Ireland’s February 8th, 2020 national election ended in a virtual three-way tie between the dominant center right and center left parties, Fine Gael and Fianna...

Evaluating Potential Authoritarian Threats: Is French President Emmanuel Macron a Populist Leader?

Feb 13, 2020 | Boston University

Many consider National Front leader Marine Le Pen’s loss of the 2017 election a victory for the preservation of French democracy, as she is widely considered an anti-democratic populist. By Levitsky...

A Toll for Democracy: Why Thailand’s First Mass Shooting Should Be the Last Manifestation of Its Democratic Decay

Feb 13, 2020 | Boston University

Following the shocking mass shootingin the commercialized northeastern region of Thailand, Twitter trended with the hashtags “#ReformtheMilitary” and “#PrayuthRIP.” This public dissent for the...

How Mass Incarceration Threatens Democracy and Perpetuates Institutional Inequalities

Feb 12, 2020 | Boston University

While Kim Kardashian West reinvigorated the debate surrounding criminal justice reform outside of CNN or Washington, D.C. think tanks, the issue at hand is very prominent and detrimental to the...