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.

Fighting Fake News: Lessons from the World’s Top Target

2018 was a year of awakening in Taiwan. Two high-profile events threw the consequences of fake news into relief. First, Su Chii-cherng, the envoy to Osaka for the Taipei Economic and Cultural Office, took his own life in September 2018 after false reports about him...

Can Democracies Wait Another 2,500 Years to Meet Today’s Needs?

In 500 BC, during Athens' golden age of democracy, the voting age was set at 18. Over 2,500 years later, this threshold remains the same in the vast majority (90%) of countries. However, as democracies grapple with rising populism, authoritarianism, marginalization of...

Présidence Impériale: Executive Aggrandizement in Macron’s France

Amidst significant challenges to France’s democracy, President Emmanuel Macron has ignored democratic norms and abused constitutional articles to expand his own power—periling France’s democracy.

How the 2020 U.S. Presidential Election Contributed to Democratic Erosion

Ohio State University

The 2020 U.S. presidential election was an important and influential election in the United States, and one that showed clear signs of democratic erosion in this country....

Is Donald Trump’s Populist Rhetoric a Threat to America’s Democracy?

Ohio State University

On Friday, July 26th, at the Turning Point Action Believers’ Summit, Donald Trump made a very worrying statement for our democracy. During a speech, Donald Trump said,...

Conservative Demagogues Use a Scapegoat When Confronted About Gun Violence

Rollins College

A loved one has just been murdered at school days prior in yet another mass shooting and, rather than doing something about it, your legislators make it even easier to obtain and carry a firearm in...

How Moldova Advances Its Democracy by Distancing Itself from Russia

University of Utah

Russia’s relations with Moldova have been problematic and increasingly aggressive, especially since Vladimir Putin’s military intervention in Ukraine. Nevertheless, this is not a recent occurrence....

Florida’s Censorship of History Puts Their Democracy at Risk

University of Utah

Discomfort is a vital tool used in change. People learning about history that makes them uncomfortable forces them to understand the importance of their actions and keeps them from repeating...

Show Us, Don’t Tell Us: Poll Working and How It Can Increase the Gen-Z Vote

Georgia State University Perimeter College

In the 2022 Midterms, young voters nationally had the second highest turnout in history with 27% of people 18-27 showing up to the polls. Some ask for the reason of the increase.Of course, you could...

Supporting the Workforce of Democracy

Georgia State University Perimeter College

In the US, we have a large and organized workforce that otherwise goes unnoticed during the elections. The workers on election day are composed of volunteers and government workers alike, each of...

The Role of COVID-19 in Latin America’s Democratic Erosion

Sabanci University

The current global crisis of democracy also extends to Latin America, where half of the countries display signs of democratic erosion. In this context, the COVID-19 pandemic has accelerated many of...

Americans Care About Their Vote: A Student’s Perspective On Poll Working

Georgia State University Perimeter College

By: Kimberly Brown Georgia State University With political polarization levels being higher than ever seen, citizens are divided on almost every belief: except voting. The patterns I saw among...

What has PiS done to the one-time democratic-front runner, Poland, in the name of Democracy?

Sabanci University

Democracy has been specified as the fundamental reason for the long-unseen historical record of the reign of peace. Today, the world is experiencing a major threat to democracy after the third wave...

How Democratic Backsliding Hurts Elections? The Case of Orban’s Victory in 2022 Hungary General Elections

Sabanci University

Hungary was seen as the success story of democratization among post-communist countries. When Orbán won the majority in 2010, democratic backsliding indicators came out of the box. Therefore,...

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