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...

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...

The Myth of a Strong Leader—When Fear Drives Philippines’ Democracy Down

May 5, 2025 | University of the Philippines, Diliman

“I would stop drugs, crime, and criminality in three to six months” -Rodrigo Duterte in his 2016 Presidential Campaign The Philippines has long grappled with maintaining...

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...

Protecting Democracy from Authoritarianism in the Case of Italy

Jan 18, 2022 | Koç University

In Italy, 19 coalition administrations were created in the seven legislative periods following 1993, known as the Second Republic, with significant legal reforms impacting political life, and five...