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.

Trump’s Press Ban and The Courts Response

Access to unbarred media is fundamental to maintaining the integrity of a democratic country. Without independent media, the stream of information to voters is disrupted making people's understanding of their political environment inaccurate. If the media...

Trump’s Use of the SAVE Database May Threaten Democratic Participation

On Friday, September 25th, the Supreme Court allowed the Trump administration to make use of the Department of Homeland Security's Systematic Alien Verification for Entitlements (SAVE) database to screen state voter lists for possible noncitizens temporarily. The...

The Press and the Limits of Presidential Power

On September 25, 2026, The Atlantic published Quinta Jurecic’s article, “The Two-Year Temper Tantrum to Come,” about President Donald Trump’s recent fight with the White House press. Just one day earlier, a federal judge had ordered the White House to restore access...

Redistricting Chaos: Executive Attempts to Suppress Missourian Voters

Oct 2, 2026 | Boston University

In the November 3rd general election, 1 in 4 Missourians will vote in a different district than in the August primaries. With last-minute rulings from state and national...

Can Politicians Hear Americans’ Disapproval Over the Hum of Data Centers?

Oct 2, 2026 | Boston University

In early September, an AI researcher at Anthropic resigned due to his belief that his leadership and colleagues were pursuing AI development in a dangerous and reckless...

The White House Press Ban Shows What Happens When Forbearance Fails

Oct 2, 2026 | Boston University, Universities

On September 18, President Trump announced a ban on CNN, MS NOW, and Politico from the White House. Within a week, federal judge Timothy Kelly replied with an order restoring those news outlets'...

Borrowed Tools: Can Hungary Rebuild Its Democracy With Orbán’s Playbook?

Oct 2, 2026 | Boston University

In 2011, Viktor Orbán’s government cleared hundreds of judges from Hungary’s courts by suddenly lowering their retirement age. Fifteen years later the same strategy was utilized against his own...

Neg Bannan Nan (Banana Man) to Barbecue : A Democracy in Free Fall

Oct 2, 2026 | Boston University

On July 7, 2021, Haitian President Jovenel Moïse was assassinated at his home, and the suspects and conspiracy theories surrounding the attack have fallen on political opponents, his own wife,...

How Free Are American Elections? Democratic Erosion in the 2026 Election Cycle

Oct 2, 2026 | Boston University

I spent my summer working on a campaign, doing community outreach and speaking with constituents from a range of backgrounds. One concern that repeatedly came up was voting. Following the widespread...

What Trump’s Attempted Pocket Rescissions Mean for the Future of Forbearance, and Education

Oct 2, 2026 | Boston University

Beginning most overtly in 2025, with the Trump administration’s punitive freezing of Harvard University’s federal grants, the American education system has been a continuous target of federal...

Mexico Holds Elections. Cartels Hold the Veto.

Sep 22, 2026 | George Mason University, Universities

On April 1, 2024, Bertha Gisela Gaytán stood at a campaign rally in Celaya, a city in Guanajuato that's been torn apart by a cartel turf war. She was running for mayor, promising to fix the roads...

A Green Card Once Meant Protection: Now it is Fear

Sep 11, 2026 | Suffolk University

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...

Food Security is Rooted Abroad

Jun 24, 2026 | Suffolk University

When conflict erupts in the Middle East, most Americans do not expect it to affect the price of corn in Iowa or groceries at home. Yet global fertilizer supply chains connect geopolitical...

The Meaning of Silence : What the moment of silence for Melissa Hortman says about American democracy

Jun 23, 2026 | Suffolk University

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...