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.

A Green Card Once Meant Protection: Now it is Fear

A Green Card Once Meant Protection: Now it is Fear By Fotios E. Meimeteas Imagine you are a single mother in the United States, raising four children who depend on you. You have established a new life, built a home, paid taxes, and lived in the United States for...

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...

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...

Ghana Protests: Example of Democratic Backsliding

Oct 13, 2023 | Salem State University

In September, Ghana saw a wave of protests against the economic crisis that has been ravaging the country for the past five years. The protests happened in front of 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....

Italy’s 5-Star Pummel With Populism! By Jonathan Kidd @ UCLA

Mar 15, 2018 | University of California, Los Angeles

“…And yet, the amateurs are the ones conquering the world and I’m rejoicing in it because the professionals are the ones who have reduced the world to this state”(Durden). - Beppe Grillo A Dangerous...

Italy’s Dilemma: Can they save themselves from democratic backsliding? by Katelyn Ogunmowo @ University of California, Los Angeles

Mar 15, 2018 | University of California, Los Angeles

Ellen Lust, in Unwelcome Change: Understanding, Evaluating, and Extending Theories of Democratic Backsliding describes the concept of democratic backsliding as “a deterioration of qualities...

Putin: “Managing” Democracy by Isabelle McGrew @ University of California Los Angeles

Mar 15, 2018 | University of California, Los Angeles

A managed democracy, as the Putinists would practice it, is not a true democracy. As the demonstrations have continued, it is clear that Russians themselves agree that this political system is not...

DEATH TO RESTORE DEMOCRACY by SAMUEL BROGADIR @ UCLA

Mar 15, 2018 | University of California, Los Angeles

Topless women, fine Italian suits, and two undisclosed murders… and no this isn’t about a Hollywood movie. The current political climate in Slovakia has gone from deleterious to deplorable in a...

Will the Philippines Soon Turn Into a Dictatorship? by Nick Scheidler @ University of California, Los Angeles

Mar 15, 2018 | University of California, Los Angeles

Rodrigo Duterte, the President of the Philippines, was sworn in on June 30th, 2016 becoming the 16th President of the Philippines. Duterte was elected after Benigno Aquino III and made very strong...

China No Chance of Developing Democracy By Jarron Silva, University of California, Los Angeles

Mar 15, 2018 | University of California, Los Angeles

Pre Xi Jinping In recent years, when Hu Jintao was in power, there was some hope that China would be able to become a democracy. In fact, Hu and others pushed for china to become one. This is seen...

A Case Study of South Korea Rise and Fall in Anti-corruption Combats by Haocheng Bi @ University of California, Los Angeles

Mar 15, 2018 | University of California, Los Angeles

In late October 2016, Jay Y. Lee, the head of Samsung South Korea’s largest conglomerate, was reported to "have bribed totaling more than $36 million" to Choi Soon-sil, a long-time friend of...

Polish Democracy in Peril by Eric Sangret @ University of California, Los Angeles

Mar 15, 2018 | University of California, Los Angeles

Democratic backsliding is increasingly becoming a concern in Eastern Europe, with some countries being issued harsh warnings from the European Union (EU). In the last three years, Poland has seen...