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...

The New Future of Warfare? How Social Media is Inflating Tensions Between the U.S. and Iran.

Social media is moving to the forefront of the ongoing tensions between the U.S. and Iran, with political elites from both sides of the conflict using social media as a weapon to fabricate narratives and generate AI videos to publicly denounce the actions of one...

Trump’s Challenging of the 14th Amendment: The Question of Birthright Citizenship

Feb 13, 2025 | Boston University

In the mere three weeks following his inauguration, President Donald Trump has ushered in a range of feelings across the nation regarding, what many may consider drastic,...

Blog Post 1

Feb 13, 2025 | Boston University

One reading I’d like to touch on is Chapter One of Levitsky and Ziblatt’s book, “How Democracies Die”. At first, I didn’t understand why the Aesop passage was included in...

Advisory Commission 1776: Patriotism or Populism?

Nov 18, 2020 | University of Chicago

On November 2nd, 2020, just one day prior to the United States’ general elections, President Trump established the “1776 Commission” through an executive order. The commission is tasked with...

Stop the Steal: The Age of Conspiracy Theories and Disinformation

Nov 18, 2020 | University of Chicago

“As for the lack of evidence that is the mantra of all you flying monkeys. It’s like denying the Holocaust. The evidence is overwhelming and compelling, despite the framing of your question.” This...

The Boycotting Dilemma

Nov 18, 2020 | University of Chicago

On September 2, prominent Venezuelan opposition figure Henrique Capriles announced his support for opposition candidates in the upcoming December legislative elections. The announcement garnered...

Is Lindsey Graham the Biggest Threat to American Democracy?

Nov 18, 2020 | University of Chicago

In the last two weeks, South Carolina Republican Senator Lindsey Graham’s vocal support for President Trump has reached new heights. Graham has perpetuated Trump’s claims that the election was...

How the Trump Base Represents the Danger that Populism Continues To Pose to American Democracy

Nov 18, 2020 | University of Chicago

On November 7th, 4 days after Election Day, Joe Biden was projected to have defeated President Donald Trump and declared to be the 46th President of the United States by all major news sources,...

Media Independence? Lessons From Putin

Nov 18, 2020 | University of Chicago

The 2020 election has brought to light the vast extent of misinformation, doubt of the validity of electoral outcomes, and divisions on even the role of facts within the United States media coverage...

Georgia: Unintended Runoff Consequences

Nov 18, 2020 | University of Chicago

The two Georgia runoff elections for senate positions are key events contributing to the ongoing democratic erosion going on in the United States with regards to the discrediting of the national...

Abolish the Electoral College

Nov 18, 2020 | University of Chicago

For the seventh time out of the last eight presidential elections, the Democratic Party has once again managed to win the popular vote but, despite these repeated victories, they have only won five...

Conspiracy and Right-Wing Populism: The Lasting Threat QAnon Poses to U.S. Democracy

Nov 18, 2020 | University of Chicago

Since the presidential election, QAnon followers have been forced to reckon with an identity crisis. “Q” failed to post for over a week after the election, and in that time questions about his...