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.

Forced Conscription in Eritrea: No Opportunities for the Youth of Eritrea

Eritrea’s forced conscription into national service has resulted in a struggling education sector and thousands of people fleeing the country.

The Politics of Shame: How Bobotante Narrative Poses Threats to Philippine Democracy

In democratic countries, elections are seen as a great equalizer for each individual, as they are entitled to free expression, regardless of their background. However, this is not the case in the Philippines, as the 2022 election has turned into a battlefield of shame...

Growing Rifts, Breaking Ties: Marcos v. Duterte as an Institutional Crisis in the Philippines

“Oh, how the mighty have fallen!” In the span of months, the Dutertes came from having strong positions in Philippine society and government to the verge of collapse. The Vice President, Sara, was impeached by the House of Representatives and is awaiting trial by the...

Mongolia’s Ongi River Movement: A Case of an Active Civil Society

Jun 11, 2022 | Koç University

The Ongi River Movement (ORM) and its successor, the United Movement of Mongolian Rivers and Lakes (UMMRL), later Mongolian Nature Protection Coalition that united 11...

Freedom of Speech and Media in Bangladesh: The Exploitation of Media and Restriction of Free Speech as a Tool to Advance Electoral Autocracy

Jun 11, 2022 | Koç University

“Four hostile newspapers are more to be feared than a thousand bayonets..” Napoleon Bonaparte Freedom of Speech is one of the fundamental pillar stones of international...

Is the U.S. in the throngs of totalitarianism? According to history (and Arendt), not yet. By Amalia Perez at Brown University.

Sep 26, 2017 | Brown University

More than half a century after being written, Hannah Arendt's hypotheses explaining the roots and contours of totalitarianism remain, unequivocally, a preeminent theoretical framework. The Origins...