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...

Slippery Slope Road of Constitutional Change: The Potential Damage to Philippine Democracy

May 23, 2024 | University of the Philippines, Diliman

Who would have thought that the term ‘change’ could undermine streamlining the bureaucratic process by growing the political division and recurring issues in Philippine...

Bridging the Moral Chasm: Understanding the Increasing Polarization in the Philippines

May 23, 2024 | University of the Philippines, Diliman

Dubbed by analysts as the “most significant election in the Southeast Asian nation’s recent history”, the last 2022 national elections was the most polarized and most...

A shutdown of Democracy

May 4, 2019 | Georgia State University

The Government was recently shutdown via executive order. Although I’m not necessarily a proponent of executive orders because they in many ways bypass the system that our Democracy/Republic was...

Reviving Military in Thailand’s politics by Shihori Maeda

May 4, 2019 | Georgetown University

Thailand has the histories of repetition of coups[1] and elections or military and “democratic” regimes, since the end of the absolute monarchy in 1932. The Thai general elections took place on...

Why It’s Time for a Multilateral Development Aid Agency Focused Exclusively on Democracy by Kevin Martin

May 3, 2019 | Georgetown University

In 2019, Freedom House recorded the 13th consecutive year of democracy in decline, the longest retreat since the organization began producing its flagship report in 1972. As the Third Wave slows,...

Democratic Norms in America by Mya Nelson

May 3, 2019 | Georgia State University

During my semester of taking the course, Global Issues, I have learned a lot. The course was based on various topics including Democratic Erosion. I recently encountered an article that had similar...

Venezuela: Guaido’s Last Stand? by Randolph Kent

May 3, 2019 | Georgetown University

In what could prove to be an enormous blunder, Juan Guaido, Venezuela’s opposition leader, launched a failed coup to oust Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro three days ago. The attempted coup...

Board of Society by Catherine Browder

May 3, 2019 | Georgia State University

Attending the Rockdale County School Board meeting, one may not see this event as an embodiment of democracy. However, this gathering of people giving their opinions on what should happen in the...

How Russia Uses Disinformation to Undermine Democracy Abroad, and What Can Be Done to Stop It

May 3, 2019 | Georgetown University

In the past, the word “authoritarian” brought to mind images of violent repression, censorship, and intensive surveillance, an image that. Today, however, autocrats have a new set of tools that...

The Tribal Constituency: Limited Democratic Flexibility, and the Future of Jordanian Stability

May 3, 2019 | Georgetown University

The strategic integration of a tribal constituency decreases Jordan’s vulnerability to a coup. Yet this same historic factor of regime stability also limits its democratic flexibility, and presents...

Social Media and Democracy by Justin Saint-Loubert-Bie

May 3, 2019 | University of Chicago

On April 30th, the Sri Lankan government lifted a ban on social media it had put in place following the Easter attacks that had killed 253 people. Officials had initiated the ban in fear that social...