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.

The Unpaved Road Of Guatemala’s Democracy

Ohio State University

The road to democracy for Guatemala was rocky and has remained just as unpaved since. Guatemala has a unique political history, with civil wars, hope for peace, and...

Georgia’s Stolen Election: A Setback for Democracy and European Integration

Ohio State University

On October 26th, Georgia held elections that would determine the fate of democracy in their country. Unfortunately, democracy lost. The winning party ran its campaign partly...

Sheinbaum’s Folly: How a Weak State Undermines Mexico’s Democracy

Brown University

Draped in the green, white and red of the Presidential Sash, Claudia Sheinbaum, 62, delivered her inaugural speech as Mexico’s 66th President. “We are a free, democratic, sovereign, and...

Impairing Amparo: How Recent Constitutional Changes Undermine Mexican Democracy

Brown University

Journalists and democracy advocates sounded the alarm last month as former Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador spent his final weeks in office pushing forward changes to the country’s...

Abortion Rights Are Fundamental to Democracy. Why Do Democracies Ban It?

Brown University

In 2022, the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, concluding that the U.S. Constitution does not provide federal protections for a woman’s right to choose. But in 2023, Mexico’s Supreme Court...

The Threat of JD Vance’s Populism to the Future of America

Brown University

JD Vance has been called many things by many people since he was announced as Donald Trump’s Vice Presidential running mate three months ago. He is conservative and Republican, yes, as well as a...

Protecting Children: Populist Logic and the American Right

Brown University

Across the United States, socially conservative policies that coalesce around the notion of protecting children have been increasingly proposed and established. From banning books to banning...

How Populism Threatens Georgia’s Alignment With the West

Brown University

The 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine sent shockwaves across the West. Long-time geopolitical neutrals Finland and Sweden joined NATO, and many Western countries levied sanctions to cripple the power...

Democracy is Eroding in El Salvador, but Who is Concerned?

Brown University

The self-proclaimed “world’s coolest dictator”, Nayib Bukele, won presidential re-election in El Salvador in February of this year, extending his presidency to another five-year term. His landslide...

“Handmaid’s Tale is not a tutorial!”: Reproductive Rights as a Mechanism for Reversing Democratic Backsliding in Poland and the United States

Brown University

Before October of 2023, Freedom House described Poland as having “the swiftest democratic decline in the [European] region.” The far-right, nationalist Law and Justice party (PiS) had been in power...

How Nationalism Saves Democracy

Brown University

It is in the comforting sound of your mother tongue, the aroma of a home-cooked traditional meal, shared celebrations, and the beauty of our architecture that we find an immediate sense of...

« Older Entries

Next Entries »