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...

Impairing Amparo: How Recent Constitutional Changes Undermine Mexican Democracy

Oct 9, 2024 | Brown University

Journalists and democracy advocates sounded the alarm last month as former Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador spent his final weeks in office pushing forward...

Abortion Rights Are Fundamental to Democracy. Why Do Democracies Ban It?

Oct 9, 2024 | Brown University

In 2022, the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, concluding that the U.S. Constitution does not provide federal protections for a woman’s right to choose. But in...

A Dangerous Game: Campaigning for The Expansion of Executive Power

Apr 8, 2020 | Utah State University

The United States democracy has been upheld by the Constitution and within it the separation of powers. Those powers were created by the Framers to uphold the Constitution and to bring forth a more...

How Religious Representation Erodes Democracy in Lebanon

Apr 7, 2020 | Utah State University

After decades of sectarian rule, the people of Lebanon have had enough. Since the end of the First World War, and the beginning of the French presence in the country, they have been living in a...

Trump’s Authoritarian Tendencies and its Relation to Covid-19

Apr 7, 2020 | Boston University

With 330,891 current cases of Covid-19, this virus has affected people in every aspect of life from elections to employment. Trump has engaged in various activities that can be considered...

Democracy’s enemy within

Apr 7, 2020 | Rollins College

The Economist August 31st 2019 Democracy’s enemy within Cynicism is gnawing at Western democracies Democracies are generally thought to die at the barrel of a gun, in coups and revolutions. These...

Combatting Cynicism: The Great Threat to American Democracy

Apr 7, 2020 | Rollins College

The United States has always been characterized by optimism and progress, embedded in our unalienable rights to Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. Unfortunately, negativity has been slowly...

Targeted Political Ads Aren’t the Only Thing Social Media Uses to Affect Politics

Apr 6, 2020 | Rollins College

A response to “Policing Propaganda.“ The role of social media in politics came to the forefront during the 2016 United States presidential election. Instead of waiting for the headlines and watching...

Social Media Manipulation: The Threat to Democracy and How to Correct it

Apr 6, 2020 | Rollins College

In the Economist article, “Policing Propaganda,” one of the major threats to democracy stems from one of its key supporting agents, the news, or rather through its manipulation, which can alter the...

How digital politics regulation by lawmakers could affect democracy.

Apr 6, 2020 | Rollins College

About a hundred years ago the invention of the telegraph not only facilitated long-distance communication but also did “a lot to clean up politics” as mentioned in the New York Times. It...

Democratic Erosion during National Emergencies: Voting Rights in the United States throughout the COVID-19 Pandemic

Apr 6, 2020 | Boston University

Senators Amy Klobuchar and Ron Wyden recently proposed emergency voting reforms which would allow every U.S. state to expand the use of vote-by-mail. According to Klobuchar, these changes would help...