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.

Donald Trump the Nazi Reincarnate?: Godwin’s Law and How This Phenomenon is Counterproductive to Understanding Democratic Erosion

What do we hope to accomplish when comparing President Donald Trump to Adolf Hitler, a tyrannical perpetrator of genocide?

The Russia-Ukraine War Bodes Poorly for Democracy, But Not in the Way You Think

The Russia-Ukraine War is a serious threat to global democracy through the growing wave of isolationism in the United States, an entity that has typically been at the forefront of fighting authoritarianism across the world.

The Trump Administration’s Attack on USAID

The Trump administration’s efforts to dismantle USAID, increase concerns about democratic backsliding as it could result in a trend with the executive undermining institutional legitimacy.

UniTeam Division: Marcos-Duterte Fallout and Its Democratic Ramifications

Jun 20, 2024 | University of the Philippines, Diliman

"Uniteam has formally been dissolved and she has just become the leader of the opposition… Harry Roque, former spokesperson for Rodrigo Duterte, on Sara’s resignation from...

Navigating The Polarization of Female Political Representation in the Philippines

Jun 18, 2024 | University of the Philippines, Diliman

Unequal gender representation has always been apparent in Philippine politics. Being predominantly Catholic, the Philippine electorate has historically sided with...

When It Comes to Gun Reform, The Republicans Are Playing Dirty

Jun 9, 2022 | University of California, San Diego

The effective Republican prohibition of any meaningful debate on gun reform represents many of the hallmarks of anti-democratic practices: the filibuster, money in politics, and polarization ......

The Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam Threatens Egypt’s Economy – From Backsliding to Backsliding

Jun 9, 2022 | University of California, San Diego

Construction of the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam History of the Nile River For decades Egypt and Ethiopia have been in conflict over the Nile river. With the Nile river flowing from south to...

How Did Argentina Implement LGBTQ Rights by Renewing the Legitimacy Frames of the Social Movements?

Jun 9, 2022 | University of California, San Diego

In June 2021, Argentina passed a new bill setting a 1% quota for transgender people working in the public sector. As a late-comer democracy, Argentina was the first country in Latin America to...

Disinformation in regards to the Ukraine Crisis

Jun 9, 2022 | University of California, San Diego

Both Russia and Ukraine employ disinformation in hopes of effectively determining who decidedly depicts their version of events. As best stated within the Politico article by Mark Scott, "As the war...

The Dangers of Orban’s Rule by Decree in Hungary

Jun 8, 2022 | University of California, San Diego

When a global pandemic is sweeping through one’s country, it is expected that someone in power would do everything they could to save the most amount of their people possible. Throughout much of the...

Indonesia: Polarization of the Most Crowded Muslim Democracy

Jun 8, 2022 | Koç University

Indonesia’s Polarization on the Edges of Power, Secularism and Power Joko Widodo, current president of Indonesia ( derived from The Economist, 2019) How does polarization contribute to...

The Shanghai Epidemic: Internet Censorship in Authoritarian Governance and Proliferated Rumors Had Resulted in Misinformation and Suppressed Civil Liberty

Jun 8, 2022 | University of California, San Diego

This spring, with the cancellation of pandemic restrictions in most parts of the world, China became the last large country to maintain the zero tolerance to COVID-19. Its “Dynamic Zeroing Out”...

Participation in Politics of Indigenous Communities in Colombia: Commission for the Comprehensive Development of an Indigenous Policy

Jun 8, 2022 | Koç University

Even though Colombia has fairly well-developed legal and institutional provisions to accommodate its indigenous citizens, there has to be a real and effective commitment from the government in order...