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...

Turkey: The End of “Competitive Authoritarianism”?

Apr 18, 2025 | Boston University

On March 19, 2025, the top opposition candidate, Ekrem Imamoglu, was arrested four days prior to confirmation as the opposition party’s candidate for president. Turkey’s...

Why Protecting American Democracy Means Coming Together In Protest

Apr 18, 2025 | Boston University

In the lead up to the 2020 presidential election, the Democratic Erosion Consortium's very own professors Robert Blair and Steven Rosenzweig wrote an article in The...

Democratic Backsliding in Colombia

Oct 14, 2021 | University of Georgia

Colombia’s democracy has been on a decline for quite some time now. Evidence of democratic backsliding can be seen through acts of violence within the state, human rights abuses, and drug...

Potential Polexit: Will It Happen And Does It Risk Worsening Democratic Erosion in Poland?

Oct 14, 2021 | University of Georgia

Setting The Scene Poland is one of the few post-communist states which was able to gain EU membership, but ongoing undemocratic practices within the country may cause Poland to leave the EU. If...

Venezuela’s 2018 Presidential Election Shows Signs of Democratic Backsliding

Oct 14, 2021 | University of Georgia

After the death of Venezuela’s President Hugo Chavez in 2013, Nicholás Maduro became the country’s president. While Maduro has been in power, the citizens of Venezuela have been enduring years...

Early Signs of Democratic Backsliding in Relation to the Covid-19 Pandemic

Oct 14, 2021 | University of Georgia

Caleb Cloud Democratic backsliding is best understood as the opposite of democratization or the loss of democratic institutions. This is happening today in countries one would not expect. This can...

Stealth Authoritarianism for Georgia Voters

Oct 14, 2021 | University of Georgia

By Humayra Bramblett When defining democracy, the right to vote can be considered one of its key features. Yet in the past decade, the right to vote has become a privilege rather than an inherent...

Chileans Have Lived Under the Shadow of a Dictator for 40 Years

Oct 14, 2021 | University of Georgia

Now they are changing that by rewriting their constitution In 1973, a military junta lead by General Augusto Pinochet took power in Chile by military force. After 7 years of rule, in 1980, Pinochet...

Is Populism Thriving during the Pandemic?

Oct 14, 2021 | University of Georgia

Muntaha Syedah Qadri For the past year and a half, the pandemic caused chaos to occur. The pandemic invoked a serious level of stress on everyone around the world. It has caused the good and bad to...

Viktor Orbán’s Consolidation of Power in Hungary

Oct 14, 2021 | University of Georgia

Hungary joined the EU in 2004, but only six years later, Viktor Orbán came into power, and Hungary’s democratic institutions began to unravel. Hungary has not enjoyed as long a history of democracy...

Austria’s Teetering Democracy: Why the Far-Right Movement Is Not Going Away

Oct 14, 2021 | University of Georgia

When the Austrian Freedom Party was given a seat at the table of Austrian government and politics in 2000, the international community’s jaw-dropped. The voice against democracy was given a seat at...