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.

These are student blog posts written by student participants in the Democratic Erosion Course. These posts were not written by nor represent the views of the Democratic Erosion Consortium.

Food Security is Rooted Abroad

Global fertilizer supply chains connect geopolitical events abroad to food production at home in ways most consumers don’t see.

The Meaning of Silence : What the moment of silence for Melissa Hortman says about American democracy

On June 14, 2025, the lives of Melissa Hortman who was a House speaker in Minnesota and her husband Mark were taken in what authorities believe to be a politically motivated act of violence. The same day Senator John Hoffman and his wife were also shot and...

Buying Injustice: The Hidden Harms of this Act.

Are we looking to create a thriving society, or are we allowing fear into the lives of immigrant families? As new immigration policies appear, the question become, how do we prevent the changes that involve separating families and dismantling the place that...

Democracy and the Press: Netanyahu’s Threat to Media Freedom

Dec 5, 2025 | University of Georgia

Israeli Government Structure Israel has a parliamentary democracy with a unicameral legislature, known as the Knesset, where citizens elect political parties rather than...

Hungary’s 2024 Protests and Elections: Populism VS Oligarchy

Dec 2, 2025 | University of Pittsburgh

Intro In the last two years, Hungary has seen an influx of worker-led protests, even as Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán maintained tight control over politics and the...

The War in Tigray

Apr 27, 2022 | University of Georgia

While the majority of western media continues its focus on the current Russian invasion of Ukraine, a plethora of armed conflicts continue to rage in the global south. One of the more violent of...

The 2022 French Presidential Election: Far-Right Ideals on the Rise

Apr 27, 2022 | University of Georgia

The 2022 French Presidential election was controversial for a variety of reasons, the largest being the fact that a far-right populist managed to reach the final stages. Marie Le Pen and her...

Banning Opposition and Democratic Backsliding in Turkey

Apr 27, 2022 | University of Georgia

Throughout recent years, Turkey has shown many characteristics of democratic backsliding under the leadership of President Erdogan and his party, the Justice and Development Party. One of the key...

Why Are We So Obsessed with Democracy?

Apr 27, 2022 | University of Georgia

Being a student of political science, I have managed to consume a lot of knowledge and information about the United States democracy and its principles. Throughout my studies, I have always come to...

White Anxiety Helped Trump to Enter the White House

Apr 27, 2022 | University of Georgia

Census projects that the US will become predominantly non-white around the year of 2045. What some people consider as a story of success, might be seen as a substantial sociocultural threat from...

No Civil Society, No Democracy

Apr 27, 2022 | University of Georgia

Civil society plays an integral part in all democracies, especially in building and strengthening democracy. First, what is civil society? Resounding sociologist Larry Diamond, defines civil society...

An Important Midterm Cycle for Democracy

Apr 26, 2022 | University of Georgia

By Thomas Charyton A democracy can only really work if people believe in it. The nation’s faith in its institutions had not faced a threat quite like that which was the Trump presidency. Using...

Rohingya Path to Freedom is Myanmar’s Path to Democracy

Apr 26, 2022 | University of Georgia

Julia O’Neal Genocide and democracy cannot coexist. How did the Rohingya Muslims become one of the largest stateless populations in the world? The answer is intertwined with the struggles with...

Kazakh Resource Nationalism: Ex-Soviet Corruption and Dysfunction

Apr 26, 2022 | University of Georgia

Kazakh Resource Nationalism Post-Soviet states specialize in resource nationalism. Kazakhstan is one of the most resource rich countries in the world, and it is also a very politically corrupt...