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...

The New Future of Warfare? How Social Media is Inflating Tensions Between the U.S. and Iran.

Social media is moving to the forefront of the ongoing tensions between the U.S. and Iran, with political elites from both sides of the conflict using social media as a weapon to fabricate narratives and generate AI videos to publicly denounce the actions of one...

Presidential Crisis in Guatemala: The Challenges and Resilience of Democracy

Nov 24, 2025 | University of Pittsburgh

Guatemala’s 2023 Presidential election sparked a democratic crisis in the country, as anti-corruption reformer Bernardo Arévalo’s rise to power and election brought...

El Salvador: Nayib Bukele’s Stealth Authoritarian Tactics

Nov 24, 2025 | University of Pittsburgh

El Salvador has been known, historically, for its high murder rate and deep-seated gang violence. However, over the past six years the country's gang violence has decreased...

Populism Versus The Military Establishment: Imran Khan Loses The Military’s Support

Apr 23, 2022 | Boston University

Faced with the threat of a no-confidence vote in parliament that he was likely to lose, Prime Minister Imran Khan, in an attempt to block his ouster, sent shockwaves through Pakistan by dissolving...

What’s the Future for France’s Democracy?

Apr 22, 2022 | Boston University

French President Emmanuel Macron is going to face off against far-right challenger Marine Le Pen on Sunday in France's second round presidential election. While supporters of the Incumbent are...

Putin and Democratic Erosion

Apr 22, 2022 | Boston University

What Putin's actions during the Russo-Ukrainian, Russo-Georgian, and Second Chechen war tell us about the threats he poses to Democracy worldwide Introduction Last month, amidst an address on the...

Don’t Lose Focus On France

Apr 22, 2022 | Boston University

Europe has enough democratic threats currently underway, but we cannot lose focus on efforts of democratic backsliding happening in France. With all of the action occurring in Europe, between the...

Modi’s New India: The World’s Largest Democracy Under Fire

Apr 22, 2022 | Boston University

Many would characterize India as the world’s largest democracy. Even the current Prime Minister, Narendra Modi, has called India “The mother of all democracies.” However, it seems as though that the...

The Zambian Case: A Lesson in Reversing Democratic Erosion

Apr 22, 2022 | Boston University

Discussions of democratic erosion tend to focus on the negative: obstacles facing pro-democratic movements, the rise of populism, or the horrific consequences of authoritarianism on human rights....

Good Neighbors: The Importance of Protecting Democracy in Ukraine’s Neighbor Moldova

Apr 22, 2022 | Boston University

The recent Russian invasion of Ukraine has dominated political discussions shifting the focus of the world towards Eastern Europe as the current location of the battleground between democracy and...

Does Social Media Need More Oversight?

Apr 22, 2022 | Boston University

In a public appearance at Stanford, former president Barack Obama called for greater “regulatory oversight” of large social media giants. He argued that their power to select and provide information...

The Evolution of Hong Kong’s Independence Movement: A Radical Transformation into Unarmed Violence

Apr 22, 2022 | Boston University

Nearly five years after the famous Hong Kong Umbrella Movement, independence fighters re-emerged in the spring of 2019 with a vengeance in order to protest a highly controversial extradition bill...