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.

Why Are Young People Not Voting?

Oct 20, 2022 | Suffolk University

I attended a zoom seminar titled “Youth Civic Participation: More than Just Voting” that focused on discussing why young people aren’t showing up to the polls, but are among...

Working Towards Building An Inclusive Democracy

Oct 20, 2022 | Suffolk University

“The 2020 Annual Freedom House Report finds that democracy, civil liberties, freedom, minority rights, and pluralism have been in decline globally for 14 consecutive years,...

What do Populists and Reformers Have in Common in This Year’s European Elections? The Environment

Apr 29, 2019 | American University

by Sarah Ampolsk In observing the elections that have taken place on the European continent thus far in 2019, two countries stand out. The first is Slovakia, one of the four central European...

Banning Abortion

Apr 29, 2019 | Georgia State University

By: Elizabeth Perez I chose the article “How Banning Abortion in the Early Weeks of Pregnancy Suddenly Became Mainstream” I think that in general many states or even worldwide this has been a topic...

Texas Voter ID Laws as an Exercise of Stealth Authoritarianism by Ryan Fleishman

Apr 29, 2019 | University of Chicago

In his essay Stealth Authoritarianism, Ozan Varol posits “Laws that regulate voter registration, which exist in virtually all democratic nations to ensure electoral fairness, afford the opportunity...

The Danger of Surface-Level Populism by Radhika Upadhye

Apr 29, 2019 | University of Chicago

In recent years, a number of countries around the world have given rise to strongmen political leaders who many consider to be...

Running Against Populism, by Ronen Schatsky

Apr 29, 2019 | University of Chicago

Democrats are lining up to run against President Trump, and they will be confronting a unique challenge. Not only are they running against an incumbent president, a historically difficult feat, but...

Gerrymandering: Legalized and Systematic Democratic Erosion by Megha Bhattacharya

Apr 29, 2019 | University of Chicago

The term “populism” has seemingly oversaturated the American political vocabulary overnight. And yet, populist movements have defined the world stage for generations. Just within the last three...

Putin: a Populist or a Stealth Authoritarian? – By Julia Fischer

Apr 29, 2019 | University of Chicago

In the article, “How Democracies Fall Apart,” Andrea Kendall-Taylor and Erica Frantz name various populist leaders that have come to power since the end of the Cold War, and they discuss how these...

Egypt’s Constitutional Referendum: a Cautionary Tale for a Post-Arab Springs World by Clara Fong

Apr 29, 2019 | University of Chicago

Amidst the Arab Spring Movement in 2011, Egypt was one of several in the region to successfully overthrow their government, igniting inspiration of a democratic future. Today, however, the...

What the Fukuyama? by Selena Spencer

Apr 29, 2019 | University of Chicago

This piece argues against Francis Fukuyama's famous piece "The End of History". In February 1989 at the University of Chicago in room 122 of the Social Science Research Building, Francis Fukuyama...