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.

When Scapegoating Becomes Strategy: Anti-Immigrant Rhetoric 

"I feel like my country is being stolen by people who have come here illegally," a Tea Party member told researcher Arlie Hochschild. "People come in and have the benefits of taxes, and the money spent on them puts a burden on the state, which makes me have to pay...
Read More

Polarization or Resilience? Interpreting Taiwan’s 2025 Recall Movement

Taiwan’s 2025 “Great Recall” campaign marked an unprecedented moment in the island’s democratic history. On July 26, voters were asked whether to recall 24 of 113 legislators—21% of the legislature—making it the first large-scale, coordinated use of recall provisions...
Read More

How Algorithms Are Reshaping Political Reality

Democracy is often judged by whether a country holds elections, maintains courts, and allows political competition and debate. Yet in many modern political systems, these institutions continue to exist while their ability to provide meaningful accountability is...
Read More