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. 

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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...
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The New Future of Warfare? How Social Media is Inflating Tensions Between the U.S. and Iran.

Social media is moving to the forefront of the ongoing tensions between the U.S. and Iran, with political elites from both sides of the conflict using social media as a weapon to fabricate narratives and generate AI videos to publicly denounce the actions of one...
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Local Democracy in Action

Apr 13, 2019 |

Planning and Zoning Board: Winter Park, FL Emily Curran This past week I went to a Planning and Zoning Board meeting at the City Hall for the town of Winter Park, where Rollins College is located....

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The Ripple Effect by EJ Broker

Apr 13, 2019 |

This post is written in response to two articles in the April 13 print edition of The Economist, both under the Leaders section: ‘Israel’s election, Bibi the conjuror’ and ‘Elections in Indonesia,...

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