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...

Red Flag in Nepal: PM Oli Considers Law to Weaken Opposition

Nov 4, 2024 | Ohio State University

“Hitler, who dreamed of conquering the world, was alone when he died. Therefore, abandon the Hitler style.”...

Erosion of Media Freedom is a Sign of Things to Come in Zambia

Nov 4, 2024 | Ohio State University

Over the past decades, Zambia has been met with democratic erosion that has spread around the globe. Many aspects of a once functioning democracy are being pulled back such...

Ban on TikTok and WeChat: Did President Trump Overstep His Powers?

Oct 13, 2020 | Northeastern University

Prior to the last month, TikTok was known, for the most part, simply as a platform for teenagers to post silly videos of themselves lip-syncing and performing comedy skits. Within the past few...

The Death of Ruth Bader Ginsburg and the Power of Supreme Court Nominations

Oct 13, 2020 | University of Georgia

The legendary Supreme Court justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg died at age 87 on Sept. 18, 2020. Americans lost a powerful, strong woman who stood up for women’s rights, as the Republicans are expected to...

“Everyone Judges According to Themselves” – Polish Authoritarianism and Constitutional Erosion

Oct 13, 2020 | University of Georgia

Polish Democracy: Dancing with the Wolves 1989 was a year like no other in recent memory for many countries in Eastern Europe, and this was especially true in Poland. The Iron Curtain was falling,...

Is the BJP Consolidating Power?: A Case Study in Tamil Nadu Politics

Oct 13, 2020 | University of Georgia

Over the past six years India has seen the rise of the BJP, India’s center-right party. In the 2014 elections, the BJP’s coalition won the majority of seats in the Lok Sabha (India’s lower chamber),...

It Takes Two: Threats From Both Parties Have Turned the Supreme Court Into a Political Chess Match

Oct 13, 2020 | University of Georgia

Dating back to Chief Justice John Marshall’s revolutionary decision in Marbury v. Madison (1803), the United States Supreme Court has actively avoided being used as a pawn in political...

Will the People Be Heard: Can the Ongoing, Belarusian Protests Successfully Deliver a Lukashenko Resignation?

Oct 13, 2020 | University of Georgia

More than 60 days of non-violent protests have followed the August Belarusian elections. This piece examines the history of the development and if there is a credible argument that the ongoing...

Consensual Prostitute, Victim, or Trafficker?: The Ambiguous Position of Migrant Sex Workers in Tapachula, Mexico

Oct 13, 2020 | Brown University

At the southern corner of Mexico’s Pacific coast lies Tapachula, Chiapas, a bustling city of over 300,000 and one of Mexico’s major prostitution hubs. A stone’s throw from Guatemala, Tapachula is...

Abiy Ahmed: Democratic Leader or Burgeoning Autocrat?

Oct 13, 2020 | Brown University

The West is quick to pigeonhole African leaders as corrupt authoritarians or the “next” Nelson Mandela. Ethiopia under Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed epitomizes the complexities of categorizing...

How Current Incumbents Are Using the COVID- 19 Pandemic To Suppress Voters

Oct 13, 2020 | University of Georgia

The manner in which states show democratic erosion tendencies differs today than in the past. Democratic erosion today is much more gradual. According to Nancy Bermeo, pre- election day...