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...

Trump’s War on Education Is Undermining Democracy

May 5, 2025 | Tulane University

“Public education is the very foundation of good citizenship.” This statement, famously declared by the Supreme Court in Brown v. Board of Education, still resonates today....

You Are Never Supposed to Matter: How Philippine Democracy Excludes You by Design

May 5, 2025 | University of the Philippines, Diliman

Every six years, politicians hand you a ballot and call it “power.” They flood your feeds with campaign jingles, slap posters on every wall, and tell you, “The future is in...

How International Relations Affect Serbia

Jan 21, 2022 | Koç University

On 20 November 2021, the President of the Republic of Serbia, Alexander Vucic, gave an interview in Belgrade, where he discussed the most important issues affecting his country today. Asked how he...

Society’s “Demons”: How Anti-LGBTQ+ Framing Works in Poland

Jan 20, 2022 | National University for Political Science and Administrative Studies, Bucharest, Romania

In the photo: “LGBT-free zone” sticker in the front of the conservative magazine Gazeta Polska which included it in their weekly editions “Stigmatization of LGBTI people is a long-standing problem...

Will Moldova’s New Government Be Able to Put an End to the Transnistria Conflict?

Jan 18, 2022 | Koç University

After a runoff vote against incumbent Igor Dorton, opposition incumbent Maia Sandu won Moldova's presidential election in November 2020. After she won the elections, she immediately made a call for...

How Do Ukraine’s Mass Protests Affect Its Politics and How Does the Recent Past Shape Polarization?

Jan 18, 2022 | Koç University

In November 2013, it was the beginning of the protests that changed the future of Ukraine, both from its own citizens and the world. Chenoweth & Stephan suggests in their book of “Why Civil...

Finland on the Brink of Democracy

Jan 18, 2022 | Koç University

Finland, which is also known as the happiest country in the world, has always been a country that is admired with the welfare system and social support programs that are described as the most...

Non-Partisan and Non-Violent Ghanaian Youth on the Streets: Can They #FixTheCountry?

Jan 18, 2022 | Koç University

Started on Twitter with the hashtag #FixTheCounrty and then spread onto streets in the form of non-violent protests. This August, Ghanaian youth have demonstrated against the political elite for the...

Slovakia: Can the New Coalition Government End Corruption and Improve the Democracy Scale of Slovakia?

Jan 18, 2022 | Koç University

The Slovakian democracy is still in it’s early ages and Slovakia has been struggling with authoritarian regime of ruling since the 1989 revolution which was against the dictator communist...

2012 Malian Crisis: Multidimensional Erosion of Democracy

Jan 18, 2022 | Koç University

The situation in Mali in 2012 can be examined by two major events. First, the military coup and the collapse of the democratic regime which led to the suspension of the constitution; and second, the...

Trying to Exist in a Patriarchal Society: Women in Bangladesh

Jan 18, 2022 | Koç University

Some of us are lucky enough to live in societies that value women and men equally, but what about Bangladeshi women who have not been so fortunate, either from birth or afterwards? On 24th November...