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.

A Green Card Once Meant Protection: Now it is Fear

A Green Card Once Meant Protection: Now it is Fear By Fotios E. Meimeteas Imagine you are a single mother in the United States, raising four children who depend on you. You have established a new life, built a home, paid taxes, and lived in the United States for...

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...

Caution: Trump! The “Break Biden’s and Harris’s Regime” Plan is REAL!

Sep 13, 2024 | Ohio State University

Project 2025? If you think there is nothing more anti-democratic than Project 2025, YOU ARE WRONG! If Trump wins the 2024 election and, therefore, enacts his plan...

Words of Warning: How Trump’s Rhetoric Reveals Potential Authoritarianism

Sep 13, 2024 | Ohio State University

For years now, former President Donald Trump has been enamored with claims of fraud in the 2020 election and unruly insulting his opponents. The 2024 election season has...

How Thailand’s General Prayuth utilizes Stealth Authoritarianism to Breakdown Thailand’s Democratic Institutions

Feb 12, 2020 | Boston University

The sky on May 22nd, 2014 looked grayer than usual. From my rooftop I could see billowing smoke from protestor camps throughout Bangkok as gunshots rang from military helicopters and tanks. From...

How the Democratic Primary Exposes Democratic Erosion Due to Polarization

Feb 12, 2020 | Boston University

While the polarization of modern American politics was displayed in the nearly partisan impeachment of President Donald Trump, the current democratic primary race to decide who will face Trump in...

Democratic Institutions at Risk as a Constitutional Crisis Grips El Salvador

Feb 12, 2020 | Boston University

President Nayib Bukele of El Salvador occupied the legislative chamber with dozens of military officers Sunday, in a show of military power. These actions threatened the separation of powers in the...

Political Apathy and Us: How a Culture of Disinformation is Corroding Democracy

Feb 12, 2020 | Georgia State University

Everywhere you turn, the headlines are waiting. Politicians are turning to social media to appeal to voters at an accelerating rate. While this allows voters to connect and engage with their...

The Iowa Caucus Causes Concerns in Election Legitimacy

Feb 12, 2020 | Boston University

The Iowa Caucus on February 4, 2020, encountered some technical issues causing concern over whether the results are accurate or not. There has been a request for a recanvass and if that recanvass...

How Trump’s Recurrent Invalidating Rhetoric is Derailing Democracy

Feb 12, 2020 | Boston University

You’ve heard it in the headlines, on social media, and maybe even from the mouths of your friends -- “Trump’s rhetoric is dangerous.” But what mechanisms does polarizing language actually trigger,...

Are Boris Johnson’s Actions Surrounding Brexit a Cause for Worry?

Feb 12, 2020 | Boston University

An attack on the freedom of the press and can easily be seen as an attack on democracy. Of the many key features of truly democratic countries, freedom of the press is often viewed as essential. In...

Democratic Erosion in India: The World’s Largest Democracy No More?

Feb 12, 2020 | Boston University

India is considered by most to be the world’s largest democracy with a voting population of about 900 million people; however, since the election of Narendra Modi as Prime Minister in 2014, there...

Wilted Democratization in the Persian Gulf: Iraq

Feb 12, 2020 | Boston University

by Nick Haller The Persian Gulf has been a region of intense western scrutiny over the past half century. With the once Westernized cultures of populations in Iraq reverting to landscapes closely...