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.

These are student blog posts written by student participants in the Democratic Erosion Course. These posts were not written by nor represent the views of the Democratic Erosion Consortium.

The Informational Middleman: A Hidden Literacy Crisis, Who Gets to Explain Democracy?

What if you can vote but can’t understand what you’re voting on? Imagine two citizens receiving identical governmental notices before preparing to cast their votes in an upcoming election. Both have the same legal right to vote, contact their representatives, and...

How Many Resignations are Too Many Resignations?: The Political Environment of the UK Leading to Keir Starmer Relinquishing his Premiership

There has been a lot of commotion in the last years about the instability of liberal democracies, and particularly established democracies which have made a considerable amount of people question their validity and efficacy. A particularly interesting example of this...

When Legal Authority May Undermine Democracy: The Overseas Voting Forms Controversy

In late August, the Trump Administration used emergency requests to alter the federal voting form used by overseas U.S. citizens, limiting how certain voters can request ballots. The changes include the elimination of a checkbox for U.S. citizens born abroad who have...

El Salvador’s Security Crackdown: A Path to Authoritarianism?

Nov 4, 2024 | Ohio State University

In the last two years, El Salvador has witnessed an unprecedented state-led crackdown on gang violence under President Nayib Bukele. The policies, which include mass...

Senate Removals and Executive Power: How the Philippines Continues to Backslide on Democracy

Nov 4, 2024 | Ohio State University

Recent events in the Philippines demonstrate how democratic backsliding can be very slow and quiet, but still impactful. In particular, it shows how power and...

An analysis of advertising regulation in American history – by Hannah Hendrickson

Apr 6, 2020 | Rollins College

This article is a response to "Policing Propaganda."The Economist’s article asserts that lawmakers, and not the heads of tech companies, should dictate what kinds of ads are and aren’t allowed...

The Cynicism Powering Democratic Erosion

Apr 6, 2020 | Rollins College

In recent years, a fear has taken hold that democratic erosion is occurring all across the globe, from the United States to the Philippines. Many theories have been introduced in an attempt to...

Regulating Manipulation of Social Media

Apr 6, 2020 | Rollins College

“Policing Propaganda” published by The Economist makes it evident the use of social media in the hands of politicians displays an abuse of power and leads to false advertisements of their...

Democracy’s Death by the Reactionary Right

Apr 6, 2020 | Rollins College

The article from the Economist entitled The Self Preservation Society focuses on creating a distinction between the “reactionary right” and “old conservatism.” They form their argument by...

A Response: Digital Politics Promote Populism by Elena Hoang

Apr 6, 2020 | Rollins College

This article was written in response to "Policing Propaganda", published in The Economist, November 30th, 2019. The recent development of social media sites has introduced an entirely new platform...

The Importance of Technological Restrictions to a Resilient Democracy by Sydney Knight

Apr 6, 2020 | Rollins College

The article “Policing Propaganda” in The Economist claims that lawmakers need to start regulating politics in the media instead of the media companies making the regulations themselves. The article...

On the Limits of Government Regulation of Social Media

Apr 6, 2020 | Rollins College

What should be done about the political misuse of social media? The article Policing Propaganda from The Economist argues that tech firms like Facebook, Twitter, and other social media enterprises...

In Israel, Gantz’s Bold Move Promotes Democracy at the Cost of His Political Agenda

Apr 6, 2020 | Boston University

In the Middle East, no country is more democratic than the State of Israel, as evidenced by the Democracy Index of 2019 [1]....

The Coronavirus Pandemic & Potential Voter Suppression

Apr 6, 2020 | Boston University

The COVID-19 pandemic has uprooted nearly all aspects of our lives and will have ramifications that will reverberate throughout society for months to come. In particular, social distancing, stay at...