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.

Trade Unionism in the Philippines is Deadly Work

May 24, 2024 | University of the Philippines, Diliman

More than 50 trade unionists have been killed in the Philippines since Rodrigo Duterte came to power, according to a 2022 report by the International Trade Union...

Democracy in Further Peril: New Autocrats in the Philippines

May 24, 2024 | University of the Philippines, Diliman

The Philippines has not had a scarcity of strongmen in its history—from Manuel L. Quezon, Ferdinand Marcos Sr., and the most recent president, Rodrigo Duterte. Even today,...

False Information in Social Media and the American Government

May 24, 2022 | University of California, San Diego

As our society is becoming more technologically advanced, we are moving towards using social media not only as a recreational tool, but also as a social platform. Most people have noticed this...

The Republican Party’s War on Democracy

May 23, 2022 | University of California, San Diego

A recently leaked draft from the Supreme Court shows that the Justices have decided to overturn the longstanding case of Roe v. Wade. This will give states the ability to mandate whether or not...

Chile: New Hope For Democratic Consolidation?

May 22, 2022 | University of California, San Diego

President Gabriel Boric Democratic erosion is currently a global crisis, as many countries experience various forms of backsliding, including the United States. The global loss of democratic systems...

The Attack on Women’s Voting Rights in the US

May 21, 2022 | University of California, San Diego

The true republic: men, their rights, and nothing more; women, their rights, and nothing less.Susan B. Anthony Superficially the eradication of women's rights to choose is an attack on bodily...

Democratic Resilience

May 20, 2022 | University of California, San Diego

Our country is divided, we all know that, and there have been lies spread throughout the land. Lies of a stolen election perpetrated by a desperate political operator who felt his power slipping...

Populism and Political Systems

May 20, 2022 | University of California, San Diego

In the past few years, the tendency of populism has been increasing worldwide. Many state leaders are reckoned as populist due to their proposals on policies, such as the former President of the...

Will Castillo’s Proposed Referendum Fix Peru’s Democratic Erosion?

May 17, 2022 | SUNY-Binghamton

In June 2021, Pedro Castillo, a self proclaimed leftist populist, was elected as the president of Peru. With his victory over Keiko Fujimori a right wing populist only coming by 40,000 votes it...

Elon Musk’s Acquisition of Twitter: The Privatization of Social Media

May 17, 2022 | University of California, San Diego

Twitter, the social media platform that has been publicly traded since 2013, is expected to come under private ownership once again. This news comes with Elon Musk’s $44 billion offer to acquire the...

The Crumbling Institutional Pillars of the US Supreme Court

May 17, 2022 | University of California, San Diego

The recent leak of the initial majority draft opinion on Roe v. Wade has many implications of democratic erosion. The significance of this occurrence goes beyond the potential overturning of this...