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 are student blog posts written by student participants in the Democratic Erosion Course. These posts were not written by nor represent the views of the Democratic Erosion Consortium.

Trump’s Press Ban and The Courts Response

Access to unbarred media is fundamental to maintaining the integrity of a democratic country. Without independent media, the stream of information to voters is disrupted making people's understanding of their political environment inaccurate. If the media...

Trump’s Use of the SAVE Database May Threaten Democratic Participation

On Friday, September 25th, the Supreme Court allowed the Trump administration to make use of the Department of Homeland Security's Systematic Alien Verification for Entitlements (SAVE) database to screen state voter lists for possible noncitizens temporarily. The...

The Press and the Limits of Presidential Power

On September 25, 2026, The Atlantic published Quinta Jurecic’s article, “The Two-Year Temper Tantrum to Come,” about President Donald Trump’s recent fight with the White House press. Just one day earlier, a federal judge had ordered the White House to restore access...

The Future of Labor: Immigration or Automation?

Apr 11, 2023 | Rollins College

An article titled "People Over Robots (The Global Economy Needs Immigration Before Automation)," [1] written by Lant Pritchett and published in the March/April 2023 issue of...

Trump, Narrative, and Public Perception: How to Erode Democratic Guardrails

Apr 11, 2023 | Rollins College

Narrative is reality and the recent arraignment of President Trump shows just how powerful populists' use of it can be. (AP Photo/Stefan Jeremiah)...

Birth Control: The Latest Example of Trump’s Misuse of Democracy. by Laura Stavisky @ Boston University

Oct 10, 2017 | Boston University

Throughout the Trump presidency he has exploited democratic institutions to further his own political agenda at the expense of American democracy. Just last Friday, under the veil of the First...

The Turkish Referendum: What This Drastic Political Change Means for Democracy by Emily Masse at Boston University

Oct 10, 2017 | Boston University

How could a democratic institution, such as a referendum, potentially signal the downfall of democracy? Turkey may provide the answer. After a long history of military coups, Turkey adopted its...

No, Robert Reich, the Future Doesn’t Have to Be Populist. By Aidan Calvelli @ Brown University

Oct 9, 2017 | Brown University

The rise and election of Donald Trump left many Democrats reeling, searching for a way to understand the current political moment. To Robert Reich, former Secretary of Labor in the Clinton...

Better Lines, Better Democracy. By Aidan Calvelli @ Brown University

Oct 9, 2017 | Brown University

It’s no bold claim to say that the United States is a democracy. Our Constitution, one of the earliest iterations of representative government and the model for hundreds more worldwide, formalized...

Does Spain’s Response to Catalonia Serve as Evidence of Democratic Breakdown?

Oct 8, 2017 | Boston University

On October 1, Spain responded to what they deemed an illegal referendum by employing police forces to stop individuals in the region of Catalonia from voting for or against independence from Spain....

The Rise of Stealth Authoritarianism in Cambodia By Michaela Kollin At Boston University

Oct 8, 2017 | Boston University

Stealth Authoritarianism in Cambodia Overt authoritarianism has become extremely costly, prompting trade sanctions and other international punishments, according to scholars such as Varol. In order...

When Corruption is not Enough: Legitimacy and the Case of South Africa. by Micah Rosen @ Brown University

Oct 4, 2017 | Brown University

In 1994, South Africa broke a wicked spell of white control, saying its last goodbye to a horrifically undemocratic apartheid political system. But champions of democracy must be careful to turn the...

Facts Matter: Fighting Populism in a Post-Truth World. by Matthew Jarrell @ Brown University

Oct 3, 2017 | Brown University

The goal of any scientific inquiry is ostensibly to find or at least approximate some sort of truth. When we examine a phenomenon in the world, we strive to make statements or posit theories about...

Standing, Kneeling, and Absence: Is Democracy Backsliding? by: Zach Witkin @ Brown University

Oct 2, 2017 | Brown University

Following the election of Donald Trump, many of those who oppose him were, and still are, concerned about the future of democracy. The populist minded leader uses, and keeps using, his platform as a...