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.

A Green Card Once Meant Protection: Now it is Fear

A Green Card Once Meant Protection: Now it is Fear By Fotios E. Meimeteas Imagine you are a single mother in the United States, raising four children who depend on you. You have established a new life, built a home, paid taxes, and lived in the United States for...

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 Destruction of one of the Last Guardrails of Democracy in Venezuela

Apr 18, 2025 | Boston University

On January 10th, 2025, Nicolás Maduro was inaugurated to serve his third consecutive term as the president of Venezuela. This confirmed the results of the presidential...

Peaceful Protesting: A Valiant Effort Against the Trump Administration

Apr 18, 2025 | Boston University

Photo by: AP News In the past weeks, protests have been happening all around the United States every single day. These protests are...

The Great Gatekeeping Dilemma: When Efforts to Save Democracy, Subvert Democracy

Apr 22, 2021 | Boston University

After only one month in office, Marjorie Taylor Greene inflamed tensions between Republicans and Democrats. Greene is a new Republican to the House of Representatives, elected in 2020 to represent...

Greed and Greenbacks: How the Ostentatiously Rich Puppeteer American Democracy

Apr 21, 2021 | Rollins College

According to an article published by the New York Times, a dozen megadonors and their spouses contributed a combined $3.4 billion to federal candidates and political groups. This means that 12...

A Response to Danae Gaytan’s Article “Increasing ‘Voter Security’ Increases Impediments to Voting in the United States”

Apr 21, 2021 | Rollins College

Danae Gaytan recently wrote an article discussing the agenda that the republican party has to increase impediments to voting. After a contentious 2020 election and an eventual Joe Biden victory, the...

Niger: Democratizing from Blatant to Stealth Authoritarianism

Apr 21, 2021 | Arizona State University

Niger’s recent 2020 elections has been labeled an important period of democratization: securing its first transition of power between democratically elected leaders (Balima, 2021). This transition...

Democratic Erosion and the Case of Ethiopia

Apr 21, 2021 | Georgia State University

Ethiopia, a country located in the Horn of Africa, has garnered much attention due to its strategic position, its large population, and its role as a security provider within the region. When Abiy...

The 2022 Election Results Will Be a Referendum on American Democracy

Apr 21, 2021 | Boston University

On January 6th, 2021, Democrats won control of the White House, Senate, and House of Representatives, all while the Capital Building was laid under siege. Those who took part in the insurrection...

Weaponizing Anti-LGBTQ Bias: The Authoritarian’s Approach to Dismantling a Democracy

Apr 20, 2021 | American University

Piotr Grabarczyk and his boyfriend, Kamil Pawlik, arrive in Barcelona after fleeing their homeland of Poland due to intensifying anti-LGBTQ violence incited by the rhetoric of far-right president...

Idriss Deby Poised to Serve a Sixth Term

Apr 20, 2021 | American University

Chad is a country that relatively obscure to those who seldom follow African politics. A google search of Chad will produce the TV series ‘’Chad’’. However, Chad is in a very strategic location in...

Will Democracy in Myanmar Be Restored? Not Anytime Soon

Apr 20, 2021 | Boston University

On February 1, 2021, Myanmar’s military seized power and declared a one-year state of emergency after the National League for Democracy (NLD) won a landslide victory. The military backed the...