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...

The fire from within: American Democracy is dying?

Apr 29, 2025 | University of Memphis, University of Virginia

” There never was a democracy yet that did not commit suicide” - James Adams. If the average empire fails at 250 years and America is 248 years old, could we say...

Enemies of the People: Matteo Salvini’s Politics of Delegitimation in Italy

Apr 29, 2025 | Tartu University

Enemies of the People: Matteo Salvini’s Politics of Delegitimation in Italy In April 2025, Matteo Salvini and his party, the far-right Lega (League), sparked outrage...

Brazil’s Major Threat to Democracy: President Bolsonaro

Dec 1, 2021 | University of Georgia

Brazil is the fifth largest democracy in the world, it is also currently one of the most fragile. While President Jair Bolsonaro often claims to defend “democracy”, contradictorily, he has put...

Increased Polarization Can Lead to Increased Election Violence

Dec 1, 2021 | University of Georgia

Election violence has in large part existed for some time, but with the present rise in election violence in democracies, scholars are trying to understand why election violence occurs, how to...

What’s the Deal with Gerrymandering?

Dec 1, 2021 | University of Georgia

What is it? Gerrymandering is the practice of drawing the boundary of an electoral district strategically so that it benefits one political party over another. Gerrymandering was coined after...

Weaponization of Migration

Dec 1, 2021 | University of Georgia

Migrants seeking asylum in the EU are currently stuck in Belarus and facing multiple human rights abuses. The Belarusian government invites these migrants who are often from worn-torn and...

Election Integrity Act or Jim Crow of 2021?

Nov 30, 2021 | University of Georgia

Earlier this year, Georgia passed Senate Bill 202, more commonly known as The Election Integrity Act of 2021. While this bill was praised by conservatives as being a crucial step in resecuring an...

Growing Consensus that the United States Is Experiencing Democratic Backsliding

Nov 30, 2021 | University of Georgia

By Dan Doss The United States has long stood as the global bastion of democracy. It is considered by many as one of the oldest democracies in the world, if not the oldest. It spends 2 billion...

The Beginning of the End for Free American Media?

Nov 30, 2021 | University of Georgia

For 25 years, one of the greatest protections of free speech survived within a law largely created to limit free speech on the Internet. Three years after the Internet became public, the...

Democratic Erosion in the United States

Nov 30, 2021 | University of Georgia

The gradual backsliding of democracy within the United States can be seen in different ways such as election day fraud, gerrymandering, and polarization. The United States has become more polarized...

The Far Right Is Eroding German Democracy, and Merkel Is the Catalyst

Nov 30, 2021 | University of Georgia

German democracy is slowly eroding, and it all comes back to Angela Merkel stepping down as chancellor. Well, that may be a bit dramatic, but the premise still stands: Angela Merkel’s relinquishing...