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...

Stealth Authoritarian Tactics in El Salvador

May 8, 2024 | Ursinus College

El Salvador’s status as a democracy is becoming an increasingly debated subject. Still, the nation did produce legitimate democratic results on February 4th 2024, when...

Authoritarianism and its Effect on the European Union and Democracy

May 8, 2024 | Ursinus College

Authoritarian rule around the world is consistently a danger to democracy, world peace, and many civil liberties and political rights. Such civil liberties and...

American Democracy Erosion in the Pre-Trump Era by Omar Battisha

Apr 28, 2019 | University of Chicago

In 2018, for the first time in the 46 years that Freedom House's global study of political freedom has been conducted, the United States failed to get a 1/7 rating (where 1 is most free and 7 is...

Chavez and El-Sisi: One and the same?- M. A.

Apr 28, 2019 | University of Chicago

One of the main purposes of a constitution is providing a structure or framework for governance in a country. Constitutions are meant to be flexible and processes are put in place for...

Is Ethiopia really a democracy by Aisha Tewfik

Apr 28, 2019 | Georgia State University

Ethiopia is a unique country as it is has emerged from one of the oldest civilizations of the world, it is the only African country not to be colonized, has a long and rich tradition with over 80...

“Populism” as an Expression of Popular Sovereignty: Democracy as a Threat to Itself? By Ian Henson

Apr 28, 2019 | University of Chicago

A successful representative democracy is dependent on the expression of the citizens’ interests and views in society through “popular sovereignty”. This idea is the foundation of any working...

Fake News and Election Politics by Anjali Nahata

Apr 28, 2019 | University of Chicago

“It is now clear that social media and intensely partisan television and radio broadcasts disseminated a massive number of messages during the 2016 Presidential election campaign designed to...

How the 2020 census is serving to consolidate authoritarian power in the U.S. by Guilherme Soares

Apr 28, 2019 | University of Chicago

The main goal of the census in the United States is to count people, Plain and simple. Regardless of race, ethnicity, age, location, or any of countless other categorizations that people like to...

Beating Populist Rhetoric: The Democrats’ Guide to the 2020 Election by Alexa Keith

Apr 28, 2019 | University of Chicago

On February 3, 2020, the Iowa caucuses will be held, the first step in finding the Democrat who will challenge Donald Trump for the presidency. As of April, 2019, 21 Democrats have declared their...

Who Will Stand Up for Congress? by Ronen Schatsky

Apr 28, 2019 | University of Chicago

The Trump presidency has alarmed lots of people about the power of the executive branch. Democrats and even some Republicans are expressing serious concerns that the President is overstepping his...

Patronage Politics and Democracy: A Mutually Exclusive Pair? – by Matthew Sparks

Apr 28, 2019 | University of Chicago

The fundamental idea of clientelism, at first glance, naturally seems to be a rather undemocratic practice, considering that such patronage-networking effectively encourages outright vote-buying....