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.

Women in Political Dynasties: The Illusion of Choice and Democratic Erosion in the Philippines

Political dynasties have long controlled Philippine politics, with powerful families passing down leadership positions across generations. Despite the imposition of term limits discouraging dynastic rule, these families have found their way around the constitutional...

From Stardom to Senate: The Alarming Trend of Celebrity Politics in the Philippines

The intersection of celebrity and politics in the Philippines is nothing new. The phenomenon of celebrity politicians—actors, athletes, and other public figures who go from the big screen or stage to the corridors of power—has become a defining aspect of the country's...

Strong Parental Guidance?: How Film Censorship in the Philippines Affects Democracy

While cinema is often dismissed as mere entertainment, censoring it poses significant threats to information accessibility and, by extension, to democracy.

Arrested, Dead, or with Victory

Nov 10, 2022 | Skidmore College

"Só saio, preso, morto ou com vitória" Originally in Portuguese, Brazil’s presidential incumbent promises what will occur after the election. President Jair Bolsonaro told...

1922 in 2022: The Return of the Far Right in Italy

Nov 10, 2022 | Skidmore College

The polls have closed; the votes have been tallied; the election is over -- Giorgia Meloni, head of the far-right Brothers of Italy Party is the country’s next prime...

How the Democratic Shutdown is Threatening the United States Democratic Legitimacy by Chad Krys

Feb 13, 2019 | Boston University

The most recent United States government shutdown of 35 days recently ended on January 25th. This wasn’t the first shutdown: there have been 13 government shutdowns since 1981, but the threat of...

“The Insidious Underpinnings of the Longest Shutdown in American History” by Lily Bryant

Feb 13, 2019 | Boston University

It was roughly three weeks ago when the longest government shutdown in American history came to an end in a frankly shocking moment of bipartisanship. The recent spending bill - passed in Congress...

The Polish threat to the integrity of the European Union by Aram Martirosyan

Feb 13, 2019 | Boston University

The rise in the number of right wing nationalist governments over the recent years has not inspired an optimistic outlook on the prospect of the world affairs as it stands. The...

John Adams, Donald Trump, and the Painful Saga of American Authoritarianism by Eli Kramer

Feb 13, 2019 | Boston University

On January 27th of 2017, seated in front of the Presidential Seal, U.S President Donald Trump signed Executive Order 13769, barring any citizen from seven countries -- Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia,...

Unconfirmed and Unaccountable: Trump’s Embrace of Acting Agency Heads Erodes Democracy by Nicholas Bornstein

Feb 13, 2019 | Boston University

Just over a month ago, President Donald Trump remarked to a group of reporters that, “…my actings are doing really great… I sort of like ‘acting’. It gives me more flexibility; do you understand...

How the Republican Party Failed to Keep a Populist Demagogue off of the 2016 Presidential Ballot by Kendall Sirica

Feb 13, 2019 | Boston University

In the months leading up to and following Donald Trump receiving the official nomination as the Republican presidential candidate in 2016, it was obvious that Democratic politicians opposed him,...

How Britain’s Farewell to the EU Threatens the Irish Peace Process – by Brady Mokrzycki

Feb 13, 2019 | Boston University

On May 22nd 1998, a referendum determined that a majority of Northern Ireland’s population wished to remain a part of the United Kingdom. The Good Friday Agreement between the governments of...

The Democratic System in Today’s Political Climate

Feb 13, 2019 | Boston University

The increasing polarization in the American two-party system may be a step towards democratic erosion. By Adelyn Davidson The democratic system was adopted in the United States to unite the nation...

The Specter of Voter Fraud: Donald Trump and the Delegitimization of Election Integrity by Benjamin Wuesthoff

Feb 13, 2019 | Boston University

During the final Presidential debate of the 2016 election, then candidate Donald Trump alarmed pundits and politicians alike as he declined to confirm whether or not he would accept the results of...