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...

Democratic Erosion is Exactly What Hungarians Wanted

Dec 5, 2024 | Brown University

Since 2010, Hungary has had the same leader - far-right populist Viktor Orban. He rose in popularity in the late 1980s after he called on the Soviet Red Army to “go home.”...

Cash for Votes: How Pervasive Clientelism Undermines India’s Democracy

Dec 4, 2024 | Brown University

“All elected leaders buy votes. Even children know that” (NPR). This is how governance in India is viewed by many of its citizens: a system that is democratic in name, with...

How the American Left Hurts Itself in the Battle for Democracy

Oct 19, 2020 | Williams College

Democracy in the United States is slowly collapsing under the weight of hyper-partisanship and demagoguery. Enabled by the Republican Party, Donald Trump has placed an incredible amount of strain on...

Misinformation Threats via Social Media Bots in the U.S.

Oct 19, 2020 | University of Georgia

Fake news could be one of the most potentially harmful things to democracy. With the presence of social media platforms growing more and more within the field of politics each day, there has...

Hartsfield’s Landing

Oct 19, 2020 | Suffolk University

In a recent reunion episode of The West Wing, the original cast got together in an empty Los Angeles theater to re-enact “Hartsfield’s Landing” - an episode from the third season of the show on the...

Young Citizens Need to Have a Say in the U.S Government

Oct 19, 2020 | Suffolk University

By Porscha Maurer October 13, 2020 Becoming a Suffolk Votes Ambassador at Suffolk University in Boston, Massachusetts was one of the most enlightening experiences for any 18-year-old who is...

Voter Suppression in the 21st Century

Oct 19, 2020 | Suffolk University

WHAT IS DEMOCRACY? Lately, democracy and democratic ideals, have become synonyms for popular legislation rather than actual democracy procedures. So that begs the question, what is democracy...

Young People and Politics: How to Increase Youth Civic Engagement

Oct 18, 2020 | Suffolk University

Who is voting in the 2020 presidential election? Will voter norms continue this year, or will things change? In this blog post, I talk about my experience with politics as a college student and how...

Pandemics and Poor Planning Create Cocktail for Chaos

Oct 18, 2020 | Suffolk University

Faced with sudden challenges due to the pandemic, along with circulating misinformation, voters are left confused ahead of the November election....

A Debate or T.V. Show?

Oct 18, 2020 | Suffolk University

The year is 2020. Not only have we lost people, but we’ve also lost the will to elect sensible candidates for our country. Now now, I know it’s controversial, but who would I be if I didn’t touch on...

Hope for Youth Voter Turnout in Future Elections

Oct 18, 2020 | Suffolk University

It is widely known that there is low voter turnout among those in younger age ranges, particularly those between 18 and 24. Through working as a Suffolks Votes Ambassador I was able to interact with...