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 Death Files: The Trump Administration’s Dangerous and Anti-Democratic ‘Self-Deportation’ Strategy

Apr 18, 2025 | Boston University

A social security master-list previously known as the ‘Death Master List’ meant for invalidating the social security numbers of deceased individuals is being repurposed in...

Democratic Erosion: Trump’s threats on vulnerable students

Apr 18, 2025 | Boston University

The Trump Administration has caused an influx of high-profile arrests of international students across the United States by the Department of Homeland Security over the last...

#VotoApruebo: How National Referenda Are Saving Chile’s Democracy

Apr 9, 2021 | American University

On October 25th, 2020, millions of Chileans at home and abroad voted overwhelmingly in favor of scrapping the 1980 Constitution. Furthermore, the populous voted in favor of establishing a...

Dissing Democracy

Apr 8, 2021 | American University

Nations known for defending and promoting liberal ideals are now dissing democracy. The latest Freedom House figures are shocking. From our perch in the West, we are witnessing a train smash in the...

The Re-Election of Nguyễn Phú Trọng and Its Implications for Vietnam

Apr 6, 2021 | Georgia State University

Vietnam is a country with an authoritarian and non-democratic regime, led solely by the Communist Party of Vietnam (CPV). Yet, unlike other authoritarian models of governments often spearheaded by...

The Dangerous Temptations of Gerrymandering

Apr 6, 2021 | Rollins College

To what lengths should one go to preserve the soul of their nation? As discussed by Russell Berman, the Democrats have an opportunity to protect their majority in the House of Representatives before...

What Is Populism? Is Donald Trump a Populist? How Does It Impact Democracy?

Apr 6, 2021 | Rollins College

Only 4 days after Election Day, with Joe Biden as the projected winner, Trump supporters took to the streets and social media in opposition. Despite Bidens’ win, Trump and his supporters have left...

Does the United States Serve as a Guide for Democracy?

Apr 6, 2021 | Rollins College

After President Joe Biden called for a Global Democracy Summit, other nations questioned the United States’ authority as a guide for democracy given its broken state. The United States and other...

COVID-19: Deadly Virus and Threat to Democracy

Apr 6, 2021 | Rollins College

For just over a year the world has been swept up in a pandemic. This pandemic has affected nearly every person on Earth in some way or another. According to the Economist in The Pandemic has Eroded...

Is Democracy Falling at Our Fingertips?: The Age of Techno-Pessimism

Apr 6, 2021 | Rollins College

In a NY Times Op-ed, Edsall warns that democracy is weakening right in front of our eyes, and more specifically, right on our screens. The age of techno-pessimism is here and here to be heard....