Author ORCID Identifier
Lauren Balasco: 0000-0002-7639-7521
Emmanuel Balogun: 0000-0002-7531-9564
Janet Lawler: 0009-0000-1316-2963
Anna Mwaba: 0000-0001-7335-5281
Document Type
Article
Publication Date
2-13-2026
Publication Title
Journal of the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning
Abstract
Democratic erosion in the United States, and the global decline of support for democratic values and institutions, obliges us to reflect on how we introduce politics to undergraduate students in this challenging era. Recent attacks on democratic rights and academic freedoms on college campuses, as well as the undermining of rule of law and democratic norms in the United States and abroad, compels us to reconsider and reflect on how we introduce politics and civic engagement in the classroom to our students. In this essay, we reflect on how current global and national trends in populism and authoritarianism require us to teach politics courses differently than in the past. We then identify the content, skills, and values we need to emphasize and continue to train students under the stressors of anti-democratic norms and legislation in the United States and around the world. We also identify our responsibilities as educators, as we promote civic and political engagement which may expose students to risks of political repression and even violence. Lastly, we propose ways to help students identify and understand their support for and satisfaction with the current state of democracy and critically evaluate the alternatives.
Keywords
civic engagement, democratic erosion, pedagogy
Volume
26
Issue
1
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
Rights
© 2026 The Authors
Version
Version of Record
Recommended Citation
Balasco, L., Balogun, E., Lawler, J., & Mwaba, A. . (2026). Teaching Politics in an Age of Democratic Erosion. Journal of the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning, 26(1). https://doi.org/10.14434/josotl.v26i1.37648