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.

The house is burning from the inside out: American democracy is dying

” There never was a democracy yet that did not commit suicide” - James Adams. If the average empire fails at 250 years and America is 248 years old, could we say that the death of democracy was something foreseeable and the uprise in authoritarian form of government...

Demagogues: Turning America into the Child Left Behind

The emergence of technofascist demagogues in American politics pose a significant threat to democracy and education, highlighting the urgent need for critical thinking and informed choices to protect the nation’s future.

Germany’s Defense of Democracy

Populism is rising in Germany, with the far-right political party, Alternative for Germany, gaining more and more popularity that echo dangerous anti-democratic trends from Germany, raising concerns about the future of Germany’s democracy.

Blog Post 1

Feb 13, 2025 | Boston University

One reading I’d like to touch on is Chapter One of Levitsky and Ziblatt’s book, “How Democracies Die”. At first, I didn’t understand why the Aesop passage was included in...

Georgia’s October 2024 Protests: Exposing the Dangers of Power Consolidation and Pro-Putin Corruption

Feb 13, 2025 | Boston University

In October 2024, mass protests erupted across the nation of Georgia following the release of highly contested election results that extended the power of the ruling Georgian...

The 2023 Elections in Zimbabwe and Growing Authoritarianism

Oct 30, 2023 | Salem State University

The August 2023 presidential election in Zimbabwe resulted in the reelection of the current ZANU-PF President, Emmerson Mnangagwa. This will be his second and final five-year term. However, many...

How the Belt and Road Initiative is Spreading Authoritarianism

Oct 30, 2023 | Salem State University

By Luciano Hoxhaj In 2013, President Xi Jinping of China launched the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), a project that has seen the development of Chinese physical and technological infrastructure...

Dying Democracy in Israel

Oct 30, 2023 | Arizona State University

***Note from the author: My post is meant to analyze constructively the state of democratic institutions in Israel and remark on how the current conflict affects this. It is not meant to give...

Speaker of the House and Cause for Concern

Oct 30, 2023 | Arizona State University

Mike Johnson was recently elected as the new speaker of the United States House of Representatives. Johnson is a supporter of former President Trump and had recently filed a lawsuit to overturn the...

Is Bangladesh an Exceptional Case of Democratic Backsliding?

Oct 30, 2023 | Arizona State University

The current regime of Bangladesh ruled by Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has been categorized as an authoritarian regime by the V-Dem Institute, a democracy research organization. According to the...

Malaysia’s Institutional, Socio-cultural, and Foreign Challenges to Democracy

Oct 29, 2023 | Arizona State University

The case of Malaysian politics is a fascinating subject. In 2023, V-Dem considered Malaysia an electoral autocracy, although the report also stated it appears to be currently facing an upward...

Georgia’s Gerrymandering, Legal Institutions, and Democratic Backsliding

Oct 29, 2023 | Arizona State University

A federal judge ruled that Georgia’s congressional and state legislative districts must be redrawn prior to the 2024 election. The report concluded that the Republican-drawn political maps, which...

Don’t Cry Wolf About Threats To Democracy

Oct 29, 2023 | Arizona State University

In the past few years, we’ve witnessed many serious threats to American democracy. Some that loom large include: the January 6 Capitol riot, President Trump’s “perfect phone call” to Georgia...

The Alienations of Muslims in the World’s Largest Democracy

Oct 23, 2023 | Boston University

India is the world's largest democracy; in fact, it recently gained the title of being the world's largest country by population, and fortunately such a nation happens to host a democratic system of...