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...

Georgia’s Gerrymandering, Legal Institutions, and Democratic Backsliding

Oct 29, 2023 | Arizona State University

A federal judge ruled that Georgia’s congressional and state legislative districts must be redrawn prior to the 2024 election. The report concluded that the Republican-drawn...

Don’t Cry Wolf About Threats To Democracy

Oct 29, 2023 | Arizona State University

In the past few years, we’ve witnessed many serious threats to American democracy. Some that loom large include: the January 6 Capitol riot, President Trump’s “perfect...

Democratic backsliding in the nascent democracy of Poland by Shannon Flores @Yale University

Apr 11, 2018 | Yale University

Since the fall of the Polish United Worker’s Party in 1989, Poland has been a model democratic nation. It’s vibrant press, political parties, and free-market economy, combined with its clout as an...

Political clans and family ties erode the institutional system in The Philippines by Woeser Dolma @ Skidmore College

Apr 11, 2018 | Skidmore College

Colonialism created the Philippines political system embedded on socio-economic elites whom profited from political positions. Historically, the Philippines political elites became corrupt because...

Kasim Hafeez: From Hate to Hope @ University of Memphis

Apr 10, 2018 | University of Memphis

On April 9th I attended From Hate to Hope with Kasim Hafeez at the University of Memphis. Kasim Hafeez is a man who was born to Pakistani Muslim parents in the U.K. He was raised to hate the state...

Repealing Net Neutrality Reduces Freedom of Speech by Ronald Schaming @ University of Memphis

Apr 9, 2018 | University of Memphis

December 14, 2017: Federal Communications Commission voted to allow the creation of ‘Internet Fast-Lanes’ by repealing Obama Administration Net Neutrality policies. The former policy prevented...

Oscillating Factor of Middle Class in Democracy by Santosh K. Digal @ University of the Philippines, Diliman

Apr 7, 2018 | University of the Philippines, Diliman

Every society has some form of inequality. The trajectory of class based on the economy is complex. One of the ways of inequality is said to be based on economy or purchasing power. The slabs for...

Losing the Liberation? Democratic Erosion in South Africa by Wabantu Hlophe @ Yale University

Apr 6, 2018 | Yale University

Since the transition to full democracy in 1994, South Africa has experienced limited democratic erosion, driven by extreme racial inequality, outsized policy influence from the private sector and...

From Poster Child of Liberalism to “Illiberal State”: Viktor Orban and the Fall of Hungarian Democracy by Christopher Taylor @ Yale University

Apr 4, 2018 | Yale University

On July 30, 2014, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban boldly declared that “the new state we are constructing in Hungary is an illiberal state.” Coming only three months after Orban’s Fidesz party...

Populism resurgent? Evaluating the rise of American populism through the 2018 GOP Race for Connecticut Governor by Christopher Taylor @ Yale University

Apr 4, 2018 | Yale University

On February 21, 2018, three hundred people crowded into a high school auditorium in West Haven, Connecticut to hear a debate between the eight Republican candidates for Governor. With incumbent...

Duterte’s Socialism to Rescue Lumad’s Plight? by Michelle Sto. Tomas @ University of the Philippines, Diliman

Apr 4, 2018 | University of the Philippines, Diliman

The never ending cry for justice of the indigenous tribes in Mindanao, Philippines prompted the current government through a summit held February 2018. Just days after the summit, President Rodrigo...