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...

Executive Order 14171: A Deceptive Tool for Democratic Erosion

Feb 14, 2025 | Boston University

On January 20, 2025, Donald Trump was inaugurated as the 47th President of the United States, marking the beginning of his second term in the Oval Office. That day, he...

Netanyahu’s Not-So-Stealthy Authoritarianism

Feb 14, 2025 | Boston University

Long considered to be the “Middle East’s only democracy,” Israel as it stands today is a shell of the idealistic Jewish utopia its Zionist founder once envisioned. The...

Liberia: Will the End of the Weah Administration Be a Turning Point in African Leadership?

Nov 22, 2020 | Suffolk University

Liberia has been through its fair share of issues when it comes to leadership, with ruthless dictators like Samuel Doe and Charles Taylor in power in the 1990s during its bloody civil war,...

Small Town Camaraderie in COVID-19 Crisis

Nov 22, 2020 | Suffolk University

The coronavirus, or COVID-19, I think most can agree is the biggest problem that our country is facing today. As such, the topic has been discussed and covered to an extensive degree. What interests...

Albania: The State Of Corruption

Nov 22, 2020 | Suffolk University

The state of Albania has struggled with corruption for a majority of its modern history. The corruption in Albania has gotten to the point of slowing down the state's democratic growth. The small...

Corrupting the Youth, Destroying the Future

Nov 22, 2020 | Suffolk University

Cyprus is a small country in the Mediteranian with a relatively new Democracy. In the early 1900’s Cyprus was a British colony but it gained independence in 1960. In 1960 Greek and Turkish...

Sunset on the Golden Dawn: The Rise and Fall of Neo-Fascism in Greece

Nov 22, 2020 | Suffolk University

Photo by Massimiliano Donghi on Unsplash Earlier this fall Greek courts handed down rulings that changed its political landscape. The leaders of the Golden Dawn party were convicted...

A Civil Liberty For All?: The Truth About Voter Suppression

Nov 22, 2020 | Suffolk University

Voter turnout has been studied for decades. Demographics of voting and registered voters changes with every election, presidential or not, each vote is counted for a statistic. Now, in saying that,...

Trump and Democratic Backsliding in the United States

Nov 22, 2020 | Northeastern University

President Trump is a major source of democratic backsliding in the U.S.; it is time that he accepts defeat in the 2020 election. “What they’re doing is using COVID to steal an election. They’re...

The Slow Decline of Tunisian Democracy

Nov 22, 2020 | Suffolk University

On December 18th, 2010, a Tunisian street vendor named Mohamed Bouazizi set himself on fire in response to the confiscation of his wares and the harassment and humiliation inflicted upon him by...

Is the Electoral College Truly a Representation of the United States People?

Nov 22, 2020 | Suffolk University

On November 3rd, the entire United States and other countries looked towards the government, focusing on President Donald Trump and Candidate Joe Biden. Ballot counting, electoral college votes, and...