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.

Bridging the Moral Chasm: Understanding the Increasing Polarization in the Philippines

May 23, 2024 | University of the Philippines, Diliman

Dubbed by analysts as the “most significant election in the Southeast Asian nation’s recent history”, the last 2022 national elections was the most polarized and most...

Tyranny? You mean, Unity?: The Fateful Alliance of the Marcos-Duterte Clans in the Philippines

May 23, 2024 | University of the Philippines, Diliman

“Bagong Pilipinas, Bagong Mukha!”, (trans: New Philippines, New Face) the battle cry of the 2022 Marcos-Duterte campaign jingle echoed throughout the nation as the...

New Evidence on January 6th and Its Effect on Democracy

May 6, 2022 | SUNY-Binghamton

January 6th, 2021 is a day that Americans will not soon forget. The United States experienced an attack on its democracy as violent protestors stormed the Capitol, spurred by an unfounded belief...

Roe V Wade by Mallory Webb

May 5, 2022 | University of California, San Diego

Roe v. Wade and Its Reaction in a Populist Political Climate

May 5, 2022 | Uncategorized, University of California, San Diego

The Supreme Court decision that was leaked to the public containing the controversial opinion to strike down the decisions made in Roe V. Wade has caused a stir amongst political members. While mass...

Fear and Loathing in Tucker Carlson Tonight: How the Fox News Host Builds on the Emotions of the American Right

May 4, 2022 | Brown University

The rise of former U.S. President Donald Trump spawned a veritable cottage industry of books purported to offer confused Trump opponents insight into what his supporters were thinking. The New York...

Producing the Monopoly of Violence: Police Unions and Democracy

May 4, 2022 | Brown University

Unions are designed to create power, using a variety of tools that can only be achieved with collective action: the threat of strikes, lawsuits, bad press, boycotts, etc. Police unions function...

Donald Trump, Pro Wrestling, and the Future of American Politics

May 4, 2022 | University of California, San Diego

It's a head game. When you know you're faking and the audience knows you're faking and you know the audience knows you know you're faking because the fact that pro wrestling is fake has been...

A President Turns His Back on Democracy

May 4, 2022 | University of California, San Diego

Strong democratic institutions were not created from the standpoint of governments being comprised of moral representatives focused on only the collective good. If our elected officials were always...

Voting with the Head or the Heart? Empathy as a Tool to Promote Discourse

May 3, 2022 | Brown University

American politics has entered what is likely the most polarized era in its history (1). According to Pew Research’s studies, about 85% of Americans feel that in recent times, political discourse in...

New Problems Call for New Solutions: A Case for Democratizing Big Tech

May 3, 2022 | Brown University

In a previous article, I examined the effects of changes to Facebook’s News Feed algorithm to prioritize “Meaningful Social Interactions” (MSI), drawing broad conclusions about both the potential...