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...

How Populism Threatens Georgia’s Alignment With the West

Oct 9, 2024 | Brown University

The 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine sent shockwaves across the West. Long-time geopolitical neutrals Finland and Sweden joined NATO, and many Western countries levied...

Democracy is Eroding in El Salvador, but Who is Concerned?

Oct 9, 2024 | Brown University

The self-proclaimed “world’s coolest dictator”, Nayib Bukele, won presidential re-election in El Salvador in February of this year, extending his presidency to another...

A Response: Digital Politics Promote Populism by Elena Hoang

Apr 6, 2020 | Rollins College

This article was written in response to "Policing Propaganda", published in The Economist, November 30th, 2019. The recent development of social media sites has introduced an entirely new platform...

The Importance of Technological Restrictions to a Resilient Democracy by Sydney Knight

Apr 6, 2020 | Rollins College

The article “Policing Propaganda” in The Economist claims that lawmakers need to start regulating politics in the media instead of the media companies making the regulations themselves. The article...

On the Limits of Government Regulation of Social Media

Apr 6, 2020 | Rollins College

What should be done about the political misuse of social media? The article Policing Propaganda from The Economist argues that tech firms like Facebook, Twitter, and other social media enterprises...

In Israel, Gantz’s Bold Move Promotes Democracy at the Cost of His Political Agenda

Apr 6, 2020 | Boston University

In the Middle East, no country is more democratic than the State of Israel, as evidenced by the Democracy Index of 2019 [1]....

The Coronavirus Pandemic & Potential Voter Suppression

Apr 6, 2020 | Boston University

The COVID-19 pandemic has uprooted nearly all aspects of our lives and will have ramifications that will reverberate throughout society for months to come. In particular, social distancing, stay at...

The Flow of Democracy in Bhutan

Apr 6, 2020 | Georgia State University

It’s often argued that democracies run on a supply and demand system; demand being civil society, and according to Michael Fowler, supply being “aggregated into four categories of rational choice...

COVID-19 Adds to Mistrust in United States Government

Apr 6, 2020 | Boston University

The current coronavirus, or COVID-19, pandemic occurring around the globe is causing there to be mistrust in governments. Specifically, citizens are wondering is their government is telling the...

The Inefficacy of Trump’s COVID-19 Response Delegitimizing American Governance

Apr 6, 2020 | Boston University

Like the rest of the world, Americans have a lot on their minds right now. With the U.S. death toll from COVID-19 reaching 10,000 just this morning, Americans are understandably distressed over the...

Losing Faith: Fear Tactics, Cynicism, and Auguries

Apr 6, 2020 | Rollins College

“Democracy’s Enemy Within,” an article published by the Economist in August of 2019, discusses the fatal flaw that is deteriorating many of the world’s modern democracies from the inside out:...