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.

Singapore’s Contradiction of Modernization Theory

Nov 24, 2022 | Boston University

In 1959, Lipset posited that the modernization of a country is conducive to democratization. Lipset understood modernization to include development in industrialization,...

Seeing Politics in a Different Light

Nov 22, 2022 | Suffolk University

This past Spring, I worked as a District Intern for my Congressman. Most of the job was easy desk work, fielding calls and directing constituents to my higher ups,...

The Future of Democracy is Purple

Dec 9, 2019 | University of the Philippines, Diliman

In a world of increasing political polarization, a fast-growing group of people from media and academe are pushing back in the United States in defense of democracy— donning the color purple....

Russian Social Media Misinformation and its Attack on US Democracy

Dec 9, 2019 | Salem State University

During the last five years, Russian-organized spreads of disinformation over various social media platforms have undermined...

Making Sense of Imperial Manila: The Philippine Rural-Urban Divide in the Era of Rodrigo Duterte

Dec 9, 2019 | University of the Philippines, Diliman

The 30th South East Asian Games (SEA Games) hosted by the Philippines in 2019 have caused social cleavages to resurface at a time when the host nation should be presenting a united front. Trouble...

Mayor of Manila: A Portrait of Populism as Performativity

Dec 9, 2019 | University of the Philippines, Diliman

Last September, I started a new job in Manila City. Despite having lived right next to it for all of my adult life, spending most of my waking hours in a new city – the country’s capital – has taken...

Is orange ever a possibility in Thai politics?

Dec 9, 2019 | University of the Philippines, Diliman

Thailand is the country that has had the most number of coups in modern history. This says a lot about how troubled Thai politics is and how deep polarization occurs in this relatively progressive...

The Destruction of Democracy In Honduras By Jackeline Sosa

Dec 8, 2019 | Georgia State University

Has Honduras failed to uphold the upmost value of Democracy, while submitting into the hands of Dictatorship? Honduran voters got an unexpected end result when two presidential competitors asserted...

Hong Kong Protests by Max Tewksbury

Dec 8, 2019 | Georgia State University

Throughout history, democracies have worked and fallen. Venezuela and North Korea are examples of this. Great Britain gained control of Hong Kong on January 25, 1841, and maintained Hong Kong until...

A Game of (Presidential) Thrones: The Burgeoning Alliances in Venezuela’s Ongoing Political Crisis

Dec 7, 2019 | University of the Philippines, Diliman

Much like the warring families in George R.R. Martin’s bestselling fiction series Game of Thrones, Juan Guaidó and Nicolás Maduro have allies from beyond their borders which, like in the ending...

What current events in China tell us about the future of civil disobedience?

Dec 6, 2019 | Salem State University

In the largest leak ever to come out of Beijing, 400 pages of classified government documents were leaked to Western media sources. These documents provide an unprecedented look into the Chinese...