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...

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...

Resistance Against Digital Authoritarianism: The Case of Venezuela

Jan 6, 2024 | Sabanci University

Almost every country uses digital surveillance to some extent, whether it is for crime prevention and security, healthcare, or identity verification. But in some countries...

The Overlooked Backsliding of Malagasy Democracy

Jan 4, 2024 | Sabanci University

Malagasy politics are often overlooked by the international civil society, despite its long history of tumultuous instability. Yet, the Madagascan political atmosphere...

The Turkish Devolution by Aram Martirosyan @ Boston University

Apr 8, 2019 | Boston University

The concept of democratic erosion implies a former, more democratic state of affairs that is giving way to its corruptions. For this reason, the Turkish case is of much import, as the high rate of...

The Brazilian Version of Hochschild’s “Deep Story” by Eugênia Álvares Affonso

Apr 8, 2019 | Boston University

While reading chapter nine of Hochschild’sStrangers in Their Own Land: Anger and Mourning on the American Right , I couldn’t help but think about how the “Deep Story” she proposes to explain the...

On the Border of Democracy by Emilie Larsen

Apr 7, 2019 | Boston University

On February 15th, 2019, following the longest ever government shutdown, President Donald Trump declared a national emergency over what he refers to as the security crisis on the Southern border....

Why The Election of Jair Bolsonaro is the First Step in the Erosion of Brazil’s Democracy by Felicia Gordon

Apr 7, 2019 | Boston University

Jair Bolsonaro was elected into power to serve as Brazil’s President on January 1, 2019. While the brief amount of time since his Presidency began limits Bolsonaro’s role thus far in forming new...

Mueller’s Failed Indictment: An Agent for Democratic Erosion by Huy Do

Apr 7, 2019 | Boston University

This past week, the Mueller investigation’s preliminary findings sprung across American news outlets, indicating that neither President Trump, nor any of his aides conspired or coordinated with the...

A False Sense of Hope: Thailand’s Recent Election – By Dean Weeden

Apr 6, 2019 | Boston University

Many observers were looking toward the Thailand elections in late March as a sign of changing times; the country has been governed by a military junta for the past five years. However, as the...

Fake News: How Trump’s Attack on the Media is an Attack on Democracy

Apr 4, 2019 | Utah State University

Madison R. Wadsworth It seems as though every day there is another article about the United States President, Donald Trump, calling reporters foul names, trying to bar partisan press from press...

Murder of Polish Mayor Highlight’s Hostile Political Divisions by Isa Colyer

Apr 4, 2019 | Saint Louis University

On Sunday, January 13th of this year, hundreds of Polish residents flocked to an outdoor stage in Gdansk to attend the Great Orchestra of Christmas, Poland’s largest annual charity event. It was the...

Reparations, Apologies, and the Spanish Conquest by Taylor Williams

Apr 4, 2019 | Saint Louis University

Andrés Manuel Lopez Obrador is the current president of Mexico, elected in 2018 as part of the National Regeneration Movement party. In attempts to facilitate the national recognition and subsequent...