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...

El Salvador’s Successful Stealth Authoritarianism

Nov 17, 2025 | University of Pittsburgh

Executive aggrandizement has been a persistent issue in El Salvador for years, dating back to President Bukele's election in 2019. With legislative approval, Bukele is on...

Judicial Reform in Mexico: Democratization or Democratic Erosion?

Nov 17, 2025 | University of Pittsburgh

On September 15th, 2024, former President López Obrador of Mexico signed into law a sweeping judicial reform drastically changing Mexico’s political landscape. The reform’s...

Polarization in Colombia: A Force for Change?

Apr 20, 2022 | Boston University

Colombia’s upcoming presidential elections are sure to be historic, no matter the outcome. With 75% of the population disapproving of current president Iván Duque at the beginning of 2022, citizens...

Spiritual Aristocracy: The Christian Nationalist Threat to American Democracy

Apr 20, 2022 | University of Georgia

In the Appalachian foothills of Tennessee, a congregation gathers every Sunday like many churches across the United States. The church is a barn-like structure with a giant American flag painted...

Viktor Orban’s Hungary: A Democracy Backsliding

Apr 20, 2022 | Boston University

With the end of the Cold War and fall of the Soviet Union in 1989, the political systems of eastern Europe began to undergo massive change. As countries transitioned away from the communist regimes...

Viktor Orban and the Backsliding of Democracy in Europe

Apr 20, 2022 | Boston University

Early April saw populist leader Viktor Orban claim victory in the Hungarian election, with his right-wing party Fidesz winning a two-thirds majority in parliament. The defeat of the United for...

The Potential Effects of the Russo-Ukrainian War on World Democracy

Apr 20, 2022 | Boston University

In a recent article published by The Washington Post, the author lays out potential problems with an already problematic situation in Ukraine, pointing to a recent report from Freedom House, a...

Trump Is a Symptom, Not a Cause

Apr 19, 2022 | Rollins College

In his essay in the New York Times titled, Trump Poses a Test Democracy is Failing, Thomas B. Edsall, a professor of political journalism at Columbia, explains the changes to the American political...

Polarization Seen Through Partisanship, Status, and Geographical Location

Apr 19, 2022 | Rollins College

The trucker convoy made its way from Virginia's Interstate Highway into our state’s capital. Over the course of three weeks the convoy camped out, drove through, protested, and threw tailgate...

Europe’s Rotting Peace

Apr 19, 2022 | Boston University

Europe, host to much of the bloodiest fighting during both World Wars, has since experienced decades without a major conflict between member states. Some may point to a pax-Americana- a peace...

Regeme Type’s Effect on Human Rights, Especially Among Queer People

Apr 19, 2022 | University of Georgia

LGBT people have long been an extremely oppressed group in places all over the world. While many nations in the global north currently have stopped criminalizing the existence of queer people, and...