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.

The Judicial Branch’s Downfall

By ruling with bias, the Judicial Branch is overstepping its constitutional role and threatening the integrity of our separation of powers and system of checks and balances.

Israel’s Judicial Reforms: A Potential Danger to Democracy?

Israel’s suggested judicial reforms pose a risk to democratic checks and balances by undermining the independence of the judiciary, centralizing executive authority, and potentially weakening democratic principles, similar to what has been observed in countries like Poland.

Arresting Opposition and Squashing Protests: Democratic Backsliding in Turkey Under Erdoğan

Turkey has been inching towards autocracy under Erdoğan and the AKP for the last 22 years.

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...

Rewriting Democracy: Chile’s Triumph of Institutional Process

Nov 1, 2022 | Skidmore College

On September 4, 2022, Chileans were offered a new path forward for their country. A new constitution had been drafted to replace the Pinochet era version, and Chilean...

Use of discriminatory Voter Policy to suppress African Americans

Apr 15, 2019 | Rollins College

by Rajdeep Singh In response to: “The Black-White Wealth Gap Is Unchanged after Half a Century”, The Economist A liberal democracy is one that not only acts upon the desires of the...

The Danger of Populism – Lessons from Rwanda by Matt Willis

Apr 15, 2019 | Rollins College

For this post, I have read an article by Kennedy Ndahiro for The Atlantic, titled "In Rwanda, We Know All About Dehumanizing Language." The concepts elucidated by Ndahiro, a native Rwandan himself,...

The Israel Effect: What Netanyahu’s Election Says About Trump’s America by Emily O’Malley

Apr 15, 2019 | Rollins College

Many Democrats suspect that, given Trump’s performance thus far, his defeat in 2020 is inevitable, which is perhaps why the Democratic field is replete with challengers hoping to win the presidency....

WHY THE PARTIES ARE INCREASING POLARIZATION AND ITS INFLUENCE ON DEMOCRATIC EROSION BY COLLIN SWORDS

Apr 15, 2019 | Rollins College

Article in reference: https://www.economist.com/united-states/2019/04/13/for-the-first-time-ever-a-majority-of-democrats-identify-as-liberals An article published in the Economist titled...

Attending a City Council Meeting by Sydney Willis

Apr 15, 2019 | Rollins College

Attending a city council meeting is one of the easiest ways to be involved in local politics, but many people don’t attend them because they have a reputation of being long and boring. When I...

The Fragmented State of the Democratic Party by Jacob Buckelew

Apr 15, 2019 | Rollins College

A recent article by David Frum of The Atlantic titled “Democrats Are Falling Into the Ilhan Omar Trap” argues that President Trump is making Representative Omar into the face of the party as the...

The independence of central banks

Apr 15, 2019 | Rollins College

It’s been a long time since a political-economic article has grabbed my attention like The Economist’s “The independence of central banks is under threat from politics.” The article opens with “This...

Why Elizabeth Warren is a Populist

Apr 15, 2019 | Rollins College

Elizabeth Warren is affiliated with the Democratic Party of the United States and is the current senator of the state of Massachusetts. Prior to her political career, she was a prominent academic --...

Populism in the 2020 Presidential Race?

Apr 15, 2019 | Rollins College

When we think of populism, or the rise of populism, it’s pretty easy to think of Donald Trump. We think of his rants against immigrants. We think of his campaign against the elites, his cries to...