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...

Reflection on Moving Forward: Local Governance Approach to Mitigate Conflict and Elevate Civilian Engagement and Freedom of Expression in Burma/Myanmar

Oct 15, 2023 | School of Public Policy, Chiang Mai University

Many think tanks, ethnic leaders, and some researchers in Myanmar always argue that the concept of federal democracy is suitable to adopt and practice in a country like...

Tensions Escalate Following Terrorist Attack in Northern Kosovo

Oct 13, 2023 | Salem State University

By Luciano Hoxhaj On September 24, 2023, more than 30 armed Serbs attacked a monastery in Banjska, a village near Kosovo’s northern border with Serbia. The attack saw four...

Venezuela’s Downward Spiral: A Look at Nicolás Maduro’s Corrupt Elections By Patrick French @ University of California, Los Angeles

Mar 15, 2018 | University of California, Los Angeles

What started with the defeat of Venezuelan president Nicolás Maduro in the December 6, 2015 legislative election has turned into a full fledged attempt to consolidate power by president Maduro. The...

One Man’s Dominion in Moldova by Dan Zhukov @ University of California, Los Angeles

Mar 15, 2018 | University of California, Los Angeles

On July 20th, 2017, the Parliament of the Republic of Moldova voted to adopt a new mixed electoral system that would replace the old proportional one. According to the proposal, voted for by 74...

“EU”-rosion in Poland by Emmanuel Iheke, Jr. @ University of California, Los Angeles

Mar 15, 2018 | University of California, Los Angeles

As we speak, Poland continues to take more and more steps away from the commonly held European Union tradition of democracy. This process - the erosion of democratic values and transition towards an...

The Threat Fake News Poses to Democracy and its Impact on the 2017 German Election by Caitlin Buckley @ University of California, Los Angeles

Mar 15, 2018 | University of California, Los Angeles

As the 2017 September election approached, German Chancellor Angela Merkel found herself preparing to takeon a familiar entity on an unfamiliar scale. This entity, one that had already...

Venezuela’s Transition to Dictatorship by Sam Glick @ UCLA

Mar 15, 2018 | University of California, Los Angeles

Venezuela’s Plunging Democracy Over the span of twenty years, democracy in Latin America has eroded. Venezuela’s longstanding democracy is on the brink of destruction after Nicolás Maduro took over...

Is Argentina on a Democratic Upswing or Deceptive Stagnation Previously Established by the Kirchner Administration? by Samantha Moan @ University of California, Los Angeles

Mar 15, 2018 | University of California, Los Angeles

President Cristina Fernandez Kirchner followed in the footsteps of Hugo Chavez in Venezuela, bringing in a new leftist wave of populism to Argentina. Kirchner’s efforts to censor the media, degrade...

¡Viva la corrupción, la libertad, y la Democracia! — Long Live Corruption, Liberty, and Democracy! by Celina Avalos @ University of California, Los Angeles

Mar 15, 2018 | University of California, Los Angeles

In a time where rights, freedom, and democracy are being threatened across Western democracies, it’s imperative to ask the question: why are democracies failing? However, in focusing on the...

Poland’s Populist Party Changing the Court System: a threat to democracy? by Carolyn Stephens @ UCLA

Mar 15, 2018 | University of California, Los Angeles

In 2016, the populist Law and Justice party (PiS) of Poland gained a majority in the lower house of parliament without a coalition. The party consequently used their legislative power to adjust the...

The Fall of Venezuelan Democracy by RJ Teijeiro @ UCLA

Mar 15, 2018 | University of California, Los Angeles

On March 13, Venezuelan police arrested former interior minister Miguel Rodriguez Torres. Torres had been a vocal critic of the current president, Nicolas Maduro, since he was removed from office....