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.

Generation Z: A Stop Sign for Democratic Erosion?

Nov 22, 2022 | Suffolk University

“But there is something else at stake: democracy itself. [...] We must vote”[2]. In a speech given on November 2nd, President Joe Biden spoke regarding the Midterm...

Haitian Deportation and the Breakdown of the Democracy in the Dominican Republic

Nov 22, 2022 | Boston University

The Dominican Republic has been an established democracy since the 1960s when it established itself as such in their constitution in 1966. During the 1960s and 70s the DR...

Brazil in Peril

Nov 24, 2019 | University of the Philippines, Diliman

Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro, a former military man, populist and was considered as an outsider in the political scene has been gaining attention these past few months. From his extremist...

Anti-Immigrant Trump shakes crowd for 2020

Nov 24, 2019 | University of the Philippines, Diliman

A right to live in a peaceful place, a right to get asylum and a right to live without discrimination or prejudice. These are few of the basic human rights we are taught when we were still living in...

Russia & Control of the Media in Ukraine

Nov 21, 2019 | Salem State University

Recently the Kremlin has been manipulating the news from behind the scenes in places like Ukraine. This isn’t the first time Russia has tried to control the press. It’s quit a common occurrence....

Are we fighting Drugs or Democracy?

Nov 20, 2019 | Salem State University

Since 2016, Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte’s war on drugs has claimed the lives of over 20,000 people attracting global attention. In reality these killings have very little to do with...

Erdogan, the Kurds, and Legitimacy

Nov 18, 2019 | Salem State University

Erdogan, the Kurds and Legitimacy In October, a series of invasions along the Syrian-Turkish border devastated the Kurdish people...

Modi’s Efforts to Define the “Real People” of India.

Nov 13, 2019 | Salem State University

On August 31st, India released a revised citizenship list for the territory of Assam. The NRC, the National Registry for Citizenship, decided to exclude roughly two million people from this list --...

The Mussolini Rhetoric and the Modern Day Fascism Movement

Nov 13, 2019 | University of the Philippines, Diliman

A few months ago, I was playing a video game called Sniper Elite 4; a third person action stealth video game that was set in the post-Nazi era of 1943 amid the fall of the Fascist Italian regime...

Protest Over Tax Lead to Prime Minister Resignation

Nov 12, 2019 | Salem State University

Last month, mass protests against proposed taxes on “WhatsApp” forced the government and Prime Minister of Lebanon to step down. The argument over whether Lebanon is a country of resilience or a...

Bolsonaro’s Pride Burns the Amazon

Nov 12, 2019 | Salem State University

How Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro's claims contradict facts During the month of August, it came to international attention that the Amazon Rainforest was burning. And yet, Brazilian President...