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...

Thoughts and Prayers

Jun 10, 2022 | University of California, San Diego

Again we have witnessed children get gunned down within the supposed safety of their own schools. At this point, we’ve all become used to this but this doesn’t make the pain...

Populism: A Drift Towards Authoritarianism in Hungary

Jun 9, 2022 | University of California, San Diego

In 2019, Hungary became the first country in the EU to lose its rating as a full-fledged democracy at the Freedom House. Ubiquitous corruption has diminished all sectors of...

The Culture of Silence on Sexual Harassment is Broken and Women are the New Political Actors by Dorothy Spector @ Boston University

Nov 14, 2017 | Boston University

Due to the media’s exposure of Harvey Weinstein’s history of sexual misconduct, a new awareness of sexual harassment and consciousness of male power abuse has been created. For years women have...

Polarization and Pokemon Go? by Naba Khan @ Boston University

Nov 14, 2017 | Boston University

In the months since November 2016, countless news sources have reported Russian interference in the American election. The stories behind this manipulation vary. One Russian group pretended to be a...

Looking beyond Laws: Lessons from Activists in Pawtucket by Micah Rosen @ Brown University

Nov 14, 2017 | Brown University

It is easy to think of democracy in terms of laws and policies. If everyone is allowed to participate in a democracy, then even if they do not, how could democracy be threatened? But as my...

Mr. Thirty Percent: How did Abe Manage to Win Reelection? by Jonathan Silin @ Brown University

Nov 14, 2017 | Brown University

In my previous post, I discussed the fact that while Abe employs populist-leaning tendencies in his policymaking, he himself is not a populist. Nevertheless, Abe’s rule has not been benign for...

Reflections on Public Service and Democracy with Preet Bharara by Matthew Jarrell @ Brown University

Nov 14, 2017 | Brown University

John Adams famously wrote that the infant United States, as a new republic, was a nation of laws and not of men—by which he presumably meant no single personality, no matter how large or formidable,...

Trump’s Changes to the Judiciary Could Pose Some Threat to Democracy by Anna Spier @ Boston University

Nov 13, 2017 | Boston University

During the year that Donald Trump has been in office, plans have been made to reshape the federal appeals court with younger judges whose beliefs are more conservative. Trump, who entered the office...

President Trump’s Election Commission: Enforcing a Narrative or Pushing Antidemocratic Policy? By Chance Rogala @ Boston University

Nov 13, 2017 | Boston University

Throughout his candidacy and Presidency, President Donald Trump has made statements like “Serious voter fraud in Virginia, New Hampshire, and California – so why isn’t the media reporting on this?...

How Empowering the Freedom of Speech Has Been Throughout this Wave of Sexual Violence Accusations by Maxine Moore @ Boston University

Nov 13, 2017 | Boston University

The freedom of the press is a fundamental right ensured by the First Amendment of the Constitution. It is at the forefront of democracy. The First Amendment is twofold: it ensures the freedom of...

One Providence? Using an Interfaith Forum to Confront Polarization by Isabela Karibjanian @ Brown University

Nov 13, 2017 | Brown University

At just after 6 pm on Wednesday, November 1, Providence Mayor Jorge D. Elorza’s first Interfaith Forum began. Thirty to forty community members from a wide range of ages and faith groups packed into...