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...

Serbia, Serbian Orthodox Church and Twin Tolerations

Oct 19, 2025 | Arizona State University

The relationship between religion and democracy is a complex one, which makes the interaction between religious communities and the state particularly nuanced. At times,...

Whole-Process People’s Democracy: How China’s Rebranding of Democracy Challenges Global Norms

Oct 19, 2025 | Arizona State University, Featured

When Xi Jinping declared that China had achieved “a whole-process people’s democracy,” many outside observers saw the phrase as contradictory. How could an authoritarian,...

Despite a Brawl on Parliament Floor, Executive Increasing Amendments Pass in Jordan

Mar 7, 2022 | Ohio State University

Earlier this year, Jordan passed 30 new amendments targeted at granting the ruling king, Abdullah II, more executive power. The amendments include most worryingly, the creation of a National...

Threats to Civil Liberties and Media Freedom in Serbia

Mar 7, 2022 | Ohio State University

The past couple of years have seen a decline in Serbian democracy. Like many European countries, Serbia is currently led by an authoritarian leader, Aleksandar Vučić. Since he took presidential...

North Macedonia’s Crisis in Corruption

Mar 7, 2022 | Ohio State University

In June 2020, a court in North Macedonia handed down sentences for two high-profile defendants: nine years in jail for flamboyant TV personality Bojan Jovanovski, commonly known as Boki...

Persecution of Journalists Signals Democratic Backsliding in Vietnam

Mar 7, 2022 | Ohio State University

The single-party government of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam has been dogged with accusations of brutally enforcing anti-democratic policies over the years. The most common claims are those...

Romania’s PDS and PNL: A Marriage of Convenience

Mar 7, 2022 | Ohio State University

Meeting in Romanian Parliament Despite being a multiparty system, two parties have dominated Romanian politics since the rise of the democratic republic: the National Liberal Party (PNL) and the...

What Happens to a Democracy Deferred: Mali’s Delayed Democratic Elections

Mar 7, 2022 | Ohio State University

Earlier this year, Mali’s military run government delayed democratic elections for up to five years — prolonging a promised 18-month democratic transition into 2026 and beyond. Mali is not new to...

Zambia’s Precarious Democracy

Mar 7, 2022 | Ohio State University

In the Autumn of 2016, an election was held in a deeply divided country. After months of protest, and in the wake of claims of election fraud by the losing party, this country elected a president...

Indonesia’s Push for an Increase in Number of Presidential Terms

Mar 6, 2022 | Ohio State University

As economic unrest continues to unfold in Indonesia due to the pandemic, people have pushed for both a delayed presidential election and the addition of a presidential term, increasing it from two...

Algeria’s 2021 Snap Elections

Mar 6, 2022 | Ohio State University

2021 saw the country of Algeria hold a snap election in which the entire lower house of Parliament was up for reelection, all 407 of them. This was in major part due to the Hirak protest movement...