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.

First 100 Days, More Like First 100 Hours: How Trump’s First 100 Days Played Out Against Trump’s Second 100 Hours

Indiana Senator Jim Banks, a staunch Trump ally, predicted that President Trump’s return to power would be characterized by “shock and awe.” In many ways, the events of President Trump’s first 100 hours in office during his second term have lived up to that promise....

History Repeats: Why Strong Global Defense is Key to Preventing Autocracy

A strong and consistent global defense by democratic nations is crucial to preventing the rise of autocratic regimes, as history shows—from the Cold War doctrines to the failed democratization of Afghanistan—that without committed follow-through and structural reform, authoritarian forces will exploit weaknesses and reclaim power.

Women in Political Dynasties: The Illusion of Choice and Democratic Erosion in the Philippines

Political dynasties have long controlled Philippine politics, with powerful families passing down leadership positions across generations. Despite the imposition of term limits discouraging dynastic rule, these families have found their way around the constitutional...

Winter Falls on the Arab Spring: Newly Proposed Constitution is a Threat to Tunisian Democracy

Jul 24, 2022 | Dartmouth College

Tunisia, once a beacon of democracy in the Arab world, is on the brink of losing their democratic government that inspired millions. In late June, Tunisian President Kais...

Democratic Backsliding in the Philippines and Rodrigo Duterte’s War on the Media

Jul 24, 2022 | Dartmouth College

Democracy cannot exist without the freedom of the press. A free and independent media serves as a "watchdog" that can report government wrongdoing and hold individuals and...

Mass Surveillance + Populism = A Threat to Public Safety and Democracy by Lukas McMahon @Boston University

Oct 12, 2017 | Boston University

A free, liberal democracy should not spy on its citizens. But the United States does, and it may continue to indefinitely, which puts its citizens at risk of persecution — especially with the rise...

Undermining the Miners: Political Strategies of Partisan Governments by Kaylie Piecuch @ Boston University

Oct 12, 2017 | Boston University

A democratic government is a type of a government representative of all constituents. Many Americans have held on to the belief that we are the winning Miss Democracy in a pageant for equality and...

Nevada and the right to legally bear weapons of a mass shooting: a freedom or a sign of democratic backsliding? by Dorothy Spector @ Boston University

Oct 12, 2017 | Boston University

In wake of the recent mass shooting in Nevada, one of the deadliest shootings in American history, the debate on why legislation's have not been put in place to prevent such events reappears....

Spain, Stop Hiding Behind Smokescreens by Maxine Moore @ Boston University

Oct 12, 2017 | Boston University

While talk of a referendum regarding Catalonia becoming independent from Spain has been occurring for months, on October 1st, Catalonia finally voted. Madrid did everything in its power in hopes of...

Corruption, Frustration, and the Risk of Democratic Breakdown in Brazil by Julia Banas @ Boston University

Oct 12, 2017 | Boston University

Brazil’s “The South is My Country” secessionist movement is only the most recent addition to what could be democratic breakdown. Brazil’s risk for democratic breakdown has only increased with the...

The Suffocation of Presidential Norms by Jarred Barlow @ Boston University

Oct 11, 2017 | Boston University

After Donald Trump’s latest Twitter-staged boxing match, this time with Republican Senator Bob Corker, it seems as though one more mound of soil has been dropped on the grave of presidential...

A Post-Sirleaf Liberian Democracy by Rohan Joshi @ Boston University

Oct 11, 2017 | Boston University

The long period of peace and relative stability which the country of Liberia has enjoyed over the past decade, is something few other African countries can take pride in. After the country’s...

A NATURAL DISASTER FOR DEMOCRACY: TRUMP’S POPULIST RESPONSE TO HURRICANE MARIA by Emma Shaw @ Boston University

Oct 11, 2017 | Boston University

In the past month and a half, the United States has seen three major hurricanes sweep over its territory. While Hurricanes Harvey and Irma both left enormous amounts of damage in their path....

It’s not all Trump’s fault: democratic erosion’s recurring presence in the United States by Isabela Karibjanian @ Brown University

Oct 11, 2017 | Brown University

President Donald Trump’s presidency is not the start of democratic erosion in the United States – it’s the continuation of several long and often normalized trends. According to Juan J. Linz’s The...