In December 2017, Polish president Andrzej Duda, “signed sweeping legislation…to overhaul the country’s judicial system”. This statement alone is an alarming indication of democratic erosion. Although …
Is Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro a Dictator? by Michael Townsend at University of California, Los Angeles
Nicolas Maduro, who is the President for Venezuela, has been in office since 2013 and took over after Hugo Chavez. Because Maduro continued Chavez’s policies, Venezuela's economy declined with crime, …
The Democratic Tipping Point in Slovakia by Emma Shahabi @ UCLA
Slovakia has been struggling in recent days to recover some sort of stability following the murders of journalist, Jan Kuciak and his fiancée, Martina Kusnirova. Kuciak was a journalist investigating …
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Hungary for Power by Narmeen Mundh @ University of California, Los Angeles
The issue of democratic backsliding in certain EU countries has been the topic of discussion and increasing concern worldwide. Hungary tops this list due to the rapid introduction and implementation …
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A New World Order? How China’s Abolishment of Presidential Term Limits Might Become the Norm for Global Democracy
In a mostly ceremonial parliamentary vote on Sunday March 11, the National People’s Congress of China voted to allow the abolishment of term limits for President Xi Jinping, allowing him to stay in …
A Streetcar named ‘Democracy:’ An Analysis of Democratic Erosion in Turkey by Sam Wieske @ University of California, Los Angeles
A few decades ago, Turkey was the poster-boy of a democracy in the Islamic world. Fast forward to present day and Turkey is far from being a paragon of democracy, in light of the recent coup and …
Could Marine Le Pen’s Potential Election Have Threatened France’s Democracy? by Héloïse Hakimi Le Grand @UCLA
On April 23rd 2017, what many French people and analysts abroad feared happened: the far-right, with 21.3% of the votes, was a round close to the presidency. But why were people so scared of Marine Le …
Re-militarizing Japan. Abe’s abuse of overwhelming power by Ippei Kato @ University of California, Los Angeles
Japan, one of the most peaceful and safest country that has never experienced any configuration after WWⅡ, is facing undemocratic crisis that can change its long-standing neutral position and find its …