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.

President Trump Attacks News Agencies Through Legal Means

President Trump has been attacking our democracy through legal means by suing news agencies and journalist.

Epstein’s Files Are More Than Files, They Are A Signal Of Democratic Erosion

In a June 2024 Fox News interview then presidential candidate Donald Trump claimed that when in office he would support the releasing of the full Epstein files. These files pertain to convicted sex trafficker Jefferey Epstein. Epstein was a financier who pleaded...

LEARNING RESOURCES, INC., ET AL. v. TRUMP(2026)

Learning resources Inc. dispute over tariffs on their toys and their impact on the ruling of presidential power on the use of emergency economic powers protecting democratic erosion

Fall of Democracy in Turkey

Jan 5, 2023 | Sabanci University

Recently, the global rise of democratic regimes that began in the 1970s with the Third Wave of Democratization has come to a halt. In its place, many countries have...

Japan: Its Democracy and Freedom of Expression

Jan 5, 2023 | Sabanci University

It is described that the freedom of expression, one of the indispensable elements to remain the nation democratic, in Japan has gradually restricted. Especially in recent...

Xi’s China or Chinese Xi: Critical Evaluations of Charisma among Chinese Leaderships by Zitian Sun

Feb 27, 2019 | American University

Did Chinese Constitution Revision Make Xi A Dictator? On March 11, 2018, a CNN reporter, Matt Rivers, called the latest Chinese constitutional revision the “coronation of a brand-new...

Can Reversion and Retrogression Work Together to Topple a Democracy?: Ortega’s Nicaragua by Riham Amin

Feb 26, 2019 | American University

When Daniel Ortega won his first term of presidency in 1984, he won as a champion of Nicaragua’s then newly established...

The Politicization of the Cabinet and Agencies: How Trump’s Appointments Bypass Democracy by Michael Caulfield

Feb 25, 2019 | Boston University

During Trump’s presidency, the appointments that he has made have been considered suspect at best. As opposed to the appointment of those who have the best interest of the country at heart,...

The Age of Outrage by Charles Mahoney

Feb 23, 2019 | Rollins College

The stability of our democracy is contingent not only on the legal safe guards outlined in the constitution, but on the maintenance of a tolerant, and well-educated electorate. Seymour Lipset argues...

Response to “Donald Trump: Challenging Democratic Norms, or Changing Democratic Norms?” by CKelly

Feb 22, 2019 | Rollins College

In the blog post by Taylor Williams of Saint Louis University, she addresses Donald Trump’s usage of executive power to declare a “national emergency” in order to circumvent congress and secure...

Why Too Many Democratic Candidates Will Give President Trump a Second Term by Collin Swords

Feb 22, 2019 | Rollins College

In 2016, presidential candidate Donald Trump lost the popular vote by 2,864,903 votes. Yet, on January 20, 2017, President Trump was sworn into office. Both sides of the aisle have publicly said...

The Threat of Presidential Pardoning Power on Democracy by Evangelina Wong

Feb 22, 2019 | Rollins College

The President’s power to pardon is particularly important when considering whether the President has the ability to excuse his own wrongdoing and corruption within the Executive Branch. The big...

The Presidential Pardon: Executive Privilege in Terms of Democratic Norms and Political Incentives by Matt Willis

Feb 22, 2019 | Rollins College

The following is a response to "The Impact of Presidential Pardoning on American Democracy" by Felicia Gordon. The language of Article II, Section 2 of the United States Constitution is very...

The Detrimental Effects of Party Polarization on Democracy by Christian Santiago

Feb 22, 2019 | Rollins College

A Response to "How the Democratic Shutdown is Threatening the United States Democratic Legitimacy" by Chad Krys The current state of the United States government can best be described as it was by...