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.

Democratic Backsliding in the United States: Gerrymandering Issue

Oct 18, 2022 | Boston University

What is Gerrymandering? Gerrymandering is an issue that has not only stretched through US history in different ways but is something that continues to be a problem in the...

Democrats Boosting Far-Right Candidates Could Impact GOP Long-Term

Oct 18, 2022 | Boston University

Preparing for this year’s midterms, Democrats have been releasing ads in support of far-right candidates with the belief that these more extreme candidates will be easier to...

Voter Restrictions in the Wake of Shelby County v. Holder, by Shiva Kangeyan

Apr 29, 2019 | University of Chicago

The Shelby County v. Holder Supreme Court decision occurred in June 2013. The premise of the case was that Shelby County, Alabama sued the federal government over sections 5 and 4(b) of the 1965...

Information Literacy and Fake News by Isabet Tranchin

Apr 29, 2019 | University of Chicago

While propaganda in democracies have been studied for decades, the scope has widened to include other terms. Following disagreements between the media's evidence and the White House Press Secretary...

Dawn of Digital Totalitarianism by Luis Sierra

Apr 29, 2019 | University of Chicago

Since President Xi Jinping came to power in 2012, China has significantly increased controls over its already censored cyberspace. With the introduction of the social credit system which is aiming...

Populism in France: a threat to the European Union?

Apr 29, 2019 | University of Chicago

May 26th marks the day of the European elections and in France, tensions are at a boiling point. On the front-lines of Europe’s battle against populism, France’s resistance is not new. Two years...

Is Poland scapegoating LGBT people? by Victoria Malloy

Apr 29, 2019 | University of Chicago

Warsaw Pride 2015 (AP Photo/Alik Keplicz) (The Associated Press) Jan-Werner Müller distinguishes populism from other political movements that utilize the...

To Exclude or Engage? Asymmetric Gate-Keeping in the 2016 U.S. Presidential Election

Apr 28, 2019 | University of Chicago

While the global ascendance of insurgent anti-establishment political forces and the consequent threats to democratic norms have been widely acknowledged by scholars of democracy, the efficacy of...

Protected: China in Formosa: Democracy Under Threat?

Apr 28, 2019 | University of Chicago

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American Democracy Erosion in the Pre-Trump Era by Omar Battisha

Apr 28, 2019 | University of Chicago

In 2018, for the first time in the 46 years that Freedom House's global study of political freedom has been conducted, the United States failed to get a 1/7 rating (where 1 is most free and 7 is...

Australia’s Infringement on Democratic Rights by Aimee Hwang

Apr 28, 2019 | University of Chicago

What is the Pacific Solution? Since 2012, the Australian government has been intercepting the refugees and asylum seekers who attempt to arrive by boat to Australia and detaining them in Refugee...