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.

The Pink Movement: Restoring or Polarizing Democracy in the Philippines?

May 23, 2024 | University of the Philippines, Diliman

Antecedent to Leni Robredo’s declaration of her presidential candidacy in the 2022 Philippine elections, a vibrant pink becomes a beacon of hope initiating a people-led...

Slippery Slope Road of Constitutional Change: The Potential Damage to Philippine Democracy

May 23, 2024 | University of the Philippines, Diliman

Who would have thought that the term ‘change’ could undermine streamlining the bureaucratic process by growing the political division and recurring issues in Philippine...

Why Are Protests in Haiti Not Working?

May 13, 2022 | SUNY-Binghamton

Whenever you read the news it seems like there is always a protest going on in Haiti. The most recent protest that took place in March addressed the rising insecurity of the country. Current...

Democratic Erosion and Minority Rights in the United States

May 12, 2022 | University of California, San Diego

The constitution, written in 1787, is considered a failproof document that lays the very foundations for democracy. The document was intended to be amendable and reconstructed throughout time....

Relative Political Posturing in the French Run-Off Election Has Eroded French Democracy

May 12, 2022 | University of California, San Diego

With Emmanuel Macron’s 2022 electoral victory over Marine Le Pen, it might be tempting to view the current iteration of Fifth Republic politics as a continuation of the status quo of French...

Anti-Democratic Action Cloaked in Democratic Rhetoric: The Supreme Court’s Draft Opinion to Overturn Roe v. Wade

May 10, 2022 | University of California, San Diego

Roe v. Wade, the landmark decision made by the U.S. Supreme Court that fundamentally altered and improved women’s rights, is in jeopardy of being overturned. Last week, the first ever Supreme Court...

The Myth of the Immaculate Constitution: How Originalism Can Erode Democracy

May 9, 2022 | University of California, San Diego

The mythology of the US Constitution is not new. Milton M. Klein describes how the constitution, like the flag or the national anthem, is a symbol of freedom, nationalism, and patriotism: "to state...

“Disinformation Board”: US Government Approaches 1st Amendment Encroachments As Threats to Tech Monopolies Intensify

May 9, 2022 | Brown University

At the end of last month the Biden administration unveiled a new “Disinformation Board” within the Department of Homeland Security, aimed at attacking online “disinformation” as a national security...

The Patriotic Bill: A Fundamentally Unpatriotic and Antidemocratic Tool to Promote Authoritarian Control in Zimbabwe

May 8, 2022 | Brown University

Zimbabwe’s ruling party since the 1980s, The Zimbabwe African National Union — Patriotic Front (ZANU-PF)’s, appeals to democracy and national interest in regard to their proposed Patriotic Bill...

A Deeper Look Into Systemic Racism: How It Has Created Disadvantages for Minorities, and Its Impact on Society

May 6, 2022 | Suffolk University

The issue of systemic racism is most certainly an additive to the problem of democratic erosion. It is simply in the form of bias against a specific group of people. From the beginning of time there...

The Fall of the Union: The Failure of the UN to Promote Democracy

May 6, 2022 | University of California, San Diego

Ambassadors and diplomats leave while Russia's foreign minister Sergei Lavrov (on screen) addresses with a pre-recorded video message at the 49th session of the UN Human Rights Council at the...