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.

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.

2025 Romanian Elections: An Election Redo and a Barred Candidate

Only two weeks out from Presidential Elections, Romanian voters face a tough decision in deciding on the next leader of their country. The latest opinion polls show that nearly 40% of voters are still undecided on who to vote for. After all, most voters already cast...

Why Protecting American Democracy Means Coming Together In Protest

In the lead up to the 2020 presidential election, the Democratic Erosion Consortium's very own professors Robert Blair and Steven Rosenzweig wrote an article in The Boston Globe urging readers to “Get ready to protest like democracy depends on it.” The article was in...

The Left’s Case Against the Disinformation Board

Jun 10, 2022 | University of California, San Diego

The DHS secretary Alejandro Mayorkas was the first made the public aware the new disinformation board during a house subcommittee hearing in April. The White House Press...

Lying Candidates, and the Illusion of Choice

Jun 10, 2022 | University of California, San Diego

On May 5th President Joe Biden met with Chris Smalls, the president of the Amazon Labor Union, who has recently won a historic unionization vote against Amazon...

A Common Symptom of American Democracy: The Fluctuation of Democratic Norms by Dylan Quinn @ Skidmore College

Feb 17, 2018 | Skidmore College

In the Information Age, facts have never been more elusive. Despite a robust civil society and strong education system, Americans struggle to secure the truth within an increasingly polarized...

Bright Line Watch Offers Glimpse, Not Full Picture, on Democratic Erosion by Austin Albertson @ Skidmore College

Feb 17, 2018 | Skidmore College

After the release of their 4th wave of survey results, Bright Line Watch, a “democracy watch-dog” of sorts, has compiled some extensive data concerning the state of the American democracy. The...

“Is President Trump Eroding Democracy or Merely Reversing Progress?” by Jack Galardi @ Skidmore College

Feb 17, 2018 | Skidmore College

After the 2016 presidential election of Donald Trump to what could easily be the most important office in the world, a group of Political Science professors from Yale University, University of...

If Democracy is “Dying” According to BLW, it’s Already Dead by Jake Hempel @ Skidmore College

Feb 16, 2018 | Skidmore College

The surveys conducted by Bright Line Watch in order to assess the quality of democracy in the United States on multiple scales are definitely helpful in displaying the varying perceptions in...

Are we afraid of the right things? by Wallace Anne Cloud @ Skidmore College

Feb 16, 2018 | Skidmore College

Bright Line Watch was created by a group of Political Science professors shortly after the 2016 presidential elections. Over a span of a few months, beginning with the first published results in...

Does Recent Data Suggest Democratic Attrition? by Wyeth Taylor @ Skidmore College

Feb 16, 2018 | Skidmore College

In today’s polarized political time, there is division about everything relating to democracy, including the state of our democracy itself. A large part of this viewpoint centers on one’s political...

Blip or Backslide: The State of Democracy in the USA by Jane Huber @ Skidmore College

Feb 16, 2018 | Skidmore College

November 9th, 2016. I woke up, read the news, and was convinced our country was deteriorating to shambles. From my perspective, democracy in the United States was failing, but was it really? The...

What does the data tell us and not tell us? by Jillian Seigel @ Skidmore College

Feb 16, 2018 | Skidmore College

Within the last 18 months US Citizens have witnessed a polarizing election, a presidential transition, a government shutdown, and the eruption of international interference and the questioning of...

Free and Fixed Elections? by Isabelle Bertolozzi @ Skidmore College

Feb 16, 2018 | Skidmore College

Bright Line Watch is an organization that, according to their website, “brings together a group of political scientists to monitor democratic practices, their resilience, and potential threats.” The...