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.

Revisionism in Social Media and Philippine Democracy

Nov 6, 2022 | University of the Philippines, Diliman

In the digital age, social media has expanded from being a site showcasing lifestyles and personalities, linking and building connections between people, and a form of...

Duterte’s Counterinsurgency Program: There Is More Than Meets the Eye

Nov 1, 2022 | University of the Philippines, Diliman

You’ll find no freer democracy than the Republic of the Philippines under former President Rodrigo Duterte (2016-2022). Well, at least that’s what former National Task Force...

Polarization in Poland by Anjali Nahata

May 5, 2019 | University of Chicago

History can be circular in parts of Europe. The divide that has severed Polish politics is very similar to the divide that split France during the Dreyfus affair. The rhetoric employed by the...

The Erosion of Democracy in Venezuela by Brieana Burke

May 5, 2019 | Georgia State University

Democracy was a damaged project in Latin America before the current crisis in Venezuela. Military coups d’état and other violent seizures of power in the 1960s and 1970s were followed by weak...

Sudan: Dictator Overthrown, Democracy is far from Near. By Cynthia Mejia

May 5, 2019 | Sacramento State University

In December 2018 the Sudanese government imposed emergency austerity measures and a sharp currency devaluation. This was their way of trying to avoid an economic collapse, which was influenced by...

Rodrigo Duterte: A “Law and Order” President, with Criminal Intentions by Sara Rosendorf

May 4, 2019 | Georgia State University

“The Punisher,” “Dirty Harry,” “Trump of the Philippines.” These are just a few of the nicknames given to controversial Filipino President Rodrigo Duterte, and for good reason. You might think that...

The Insidiousness of the Extreme Right in Austria by Alec Wood

May 4, 2019 | American University

It’s not every day that Austrian and American politics intersect. Monday morning, April 30, 2019, reporting from Vice News revealed that the Kootenai County Republican Committee unanimously passed a...

A shutdown of Democracy

May 4, 2019 | Georgia State University

The Government was recently shutdown via executive order. Although I’m not necessarily a proponent of executive orders because they in many ways bypass the system that our Democracy/Republic was...

Reviving Military in Thailand’s politics by Shihori Maeda

May 4, 2019 | Georgetown University

Thailand has the histories of repetition of coups[1] and elections or military and “democratic” regimes, since the end of the absolute monarchy in 1932. The Thai general elections took place on...

Why It’s Time for a Multilateral Development Aid Agency Focused Exclusively on Democracy by Kevin Martin

May 3, 2019 | Georgetown University

In 2019, Freedom House recorded the 13th consecutive year of democracy in decline, the longest retreat since the organization began producing its flagship report in 1972. As the Third Wave slows,...

Democratic Norms in America by Mya Nelson

May 3, 2019 | Georgia State University

During my semester of taking the course, Global Issues, I have learned a lot. The course was based on various topics including Democratic Erosion. I recently encountered an article that had similar...