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 blogs reflect the views of the student authors, and not those of the Democratic Erosion Consortium.

Democracy in Exchange for Security; What is Left When the Concert Ends?

Shakira’s sold-out El Salvador residency exemplifies how Bukele uses high-profile events to showcase his dramatic security transformation while obscuring the democratic erosion, economic decline, and human rights abuses that made it possible.

Counter-Gerrymandering and What it Means for American Democracy

Gerrymandering is a word well known to most with even a passing interest in politics, but to many who don’t pay attention, it’s a word they’ve just recently started hearing. Gerrymandering is the process by which elected officials are able to engineer their own...

Long Term Effects of the “Secret Club” Scandal

The "Secret Club” Scandal, often referred to as the "Slovenska" affair, shocked Croatian society and uncovered deep seated corruption that goes all the way to the top. During strict COVID-19 lockdowns, when ordinary citizens faced heavy restrictions, prominent...

Unraveling Mexico’s Democratic Backsliding: Navigating the AMLO Presidency and the Looming Shadow of His Populism

Apr 10, 2024 | Georgia State University

Andres Manuel López Obrador's presidency significantly shifted Mexico's political landscape. Elected in 2018 with a promise of transformative change under the MORENA party,...

The Divisive Force of Technological Polarization: Understanding the TikTok Ban

Apr 10, 2024 | Georgia State University

In the ever-evolving landscape of social media platforms, TikTok has captivated millions with its short-form videos and trend-setting content. However, beneath its...

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...

Is America A Populist Regime? by Kenjiro Lee

Apr 29, 2019 | University of Chicago

In Chapter 2 of "What Is Populism?", Jan-Werner Müller takes to task the concept of how a populist in power operates, mainly deconstructing the concept that a populist can no longer use tactics of...

International Pressures and the Sudanese Promissory Coup by Sammy Elmasri

Apr 29, 2019 | University of Chicago

Nancy Bermeo, in her 2016 paper “On Democratic Backsliding,” describes the transition of “the classic open-ended coups d’état of the Cold War years [to what she calls] promissory coups,” which, of...

The Foreign Policies of Personalist Dictators by Carter Squires

Apr 29, 2019 | University of Chicago

Democratic peace theory, one of the closest semblances to an empirical law in international relations, espouses quite simply that democracies are unlikely to go to war with one another. This seems...

Democratic Backsliding in Romania by Ruth Selipsky

Apr 29, 2019 | University of Chicago

Over the past two decades, Romania has enacted several democratizing reforms, including founding the National Anticorruption Directorate (DNA), repealing defamation laws, and finally joining the...

Populism as a Bid for Legitimacy by Renee Colby

Apr 29, 2019 | University of Chicago

"When and why do men obey?" Max Weber poses this question in his 1918 lecture 'Politics as a Vocation'. " Upon what inner justifications and upon what external means does this domination rest?" The...

Is Trump’s Use of Twitter Effective in Cutting Out the Media “Middleman”

Apr 29, 2019 | University of Chicago

President Trump has used Twitter to connect with his supporters in an unprecedented way. His use of the platform has increased far...