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...

Prabowo Dismantling Democracy, One Law at a Time

Apr 18, 2025 | Boston University

On March 20, 2025, Indonesia’s Parliament approved revisions to their Indonesian National Military (TNI) Law No. 34/2004, raising concerns for civilians across the country....

Land of the Free, Home of the… Silent? Democratic Backsliding in Trump’s America

Apr 18, 2025 | Boston University

At one point in the not-so-distant past, the words “democracy” and “America” were seemingly synonymous. Since the 2016 election, the American political landscape has...

Authoritarian Reversion in Afghanistan

Oct 14, 2021 | University of Georgia

As Afghanistan has fallen back into the hands of the militant Taliban group, what does this mean for civil and political rights of people in the country? Introduction...

Electronic Voting Poses a New Threat to Russia’s Compromised Election Integrity

Oct 14, 2021 | University of Georgia

2021 Election Summary In September 2021, Russia held a three-day parliamentary election. The head of the Central Election Commission (CEC), Ella Pamfilova, announced...

How America’s Nation Building Efforts Around the World Is a Downfall for Democracy

Oct 14, 2021 | University of Georgia

How It All Started In the latter part of 2001, The United States went into Afghanistan to overtake the Taliban government in attempts to go after Al-Qaeda after the September 11th attacks . This is...

Democratic Backsliding: The Spanish and Venezuelan Example

Oct 14, 2021 | University of Georgia

The 20th century has shown us that there are many reasons for democracies to experience backsliding. Many of the reasons for backsliding are preventable, yet they still happen. The results of...

Media: The Catalyst Behind Erosive Polarization

Oct 13, 2021 | University of Georgia

While there is hope for America’s future as a democracy, there are serious democratic backsliding issues at the present moment. Increased polarization is widely accepted as a pre-cursor to this...

The Effect of Vaccine Mandates on American Democracy

Oct 13, 2021 | University of Georgia

The recent introduction of vaccine mandates to states and workplaces across the United States has only served to further the political polarization in the country, pushing it into the direction of...

Belarus: The 2020 Presidential Election and Democratic Decline

Oct 13, 2021 | University of Georgia

In recent years, the Republic of Belarus has become a pertinent example of democratic backsliding in Eastern Europe. Nowhere was this clearer than during the 2020 Belarusian presidential election...

Should Foreign Governments Intervene to “Protect” and “Promote” Democracy? If So, When?

Oct 13, 2021 | University of Georgia

Should foreign governments intervene to "protect" and "promote" democracy? If so, when? A big idea behind promoting democracy is “Liberal Democratic Peace Theory”. "Liberal Democratic...

Stealth Authoritarianism in Hungary

Oct 13, 2021 | University of Georgia

Stealth authoritarianism, as explained by Ozan Varol, is a relatively new concept in international affairs discourse (Varol 2015). Before the cold war authoritarianism was obvious; few efforts were...