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...

The 2026 Midterms as an Institutional Test

Apr 18, 2026 | Boston University

The upcoming 2026 midterm elections are being framed as a referendum on the current executive agenda. But to view them merely though the lens of policy preference is to miss...

The loss of trust in the MAGA movement by young conservatives

Apr 18, 2026 | Salem State University

According to several news outlets, the March 25-28 Conservative Political Action Conference, more commonly known as CPAC, was poorly attended by the younger conservatives...

Pushing out the Opposition: How President Trump is Unraveling the Democratic System from Within

Feb 11, 2025 | Boston University

On Monday, January 25th, President Trump was sworn into office for the second time, and he has been very busy since then. His controversial candidacy and, ultimately, his presidency in 2016 pivoted...

Democratic Erosion in India: How Narendra Modi Makes Use of Offensive Populism

Feb 5, 2025 | Sabanci University

Recently party politics agenda has been occupied by the debates of rising right-wing extremism, challenging and changing the status quo in many countries. The discussion around extremism(s) attaches...

2024 Jordanian Parliamentary Elections: Rise of Loyalist Parties Under New Political Party Law

Feb 3, 2025 | Sabanci University

Jordanian parliamentary elections were held on 10 September 2024 following King Abdullah II’s decision to dissolve the parliament on 25 July 2024. After a long durée, these elections became a...

The Creche Controversy in Turkey

Feb 3, 2025 | Sabanci University

Turkey has been governed under a competitive authoritarian regime for almost a decade. The incumbent Justice and Development Party (AKP) has held power for the last 22 years, with the past decade...

Between Tutelary Democracy and Populism: 2022-2023 Pakistani Political Crisis and 2024 General Election

Feb 1, 2025 | Sabanci University

The portrait of Imran Khan, carried by the supporters of the PTI. [Shahzaib Akber/EPA] Background Pakistan, along with Turkey (until the 2010s) and Thailand, is often viewed as one of the textbook...

Donald Trump, An American Demagogue

Jan 28, 2025 | Northeastern University

Throughout our nation's history, only one president could claim the unique honor of having been elected to the presidency twice in nonconsecutive terms. Grover Cleavland, when in 1893 he made due on...

Fighting Fake News: Lessons from the World’s Top Target

Dec 15, 2024 | Brown University

2018 was a year of awakening in Taiwan. Two high-profile events threw the consequences of fake news into relief. First, Su Chii-cherng, the envoy to Osaka for the Taipei Economic and Cultural...

Fighting Fake News: Lessons from the World’s Top Target

Dec 15, 2024 | Brown University

2018 was a year of awakening in Taiwan. Two high-profile events threw the consequences of fake news into relief. First, Su Chii-cherng, the envoy to Osaka for the Taipei Economic and Cultural...

Can Democracies Wait Another 2,500 Years to Meet Today’s Needs?

Dec 11, 2024 | Brown University

In 500 BC, during Athens' golden age of democracy, the voting age was set at 18. Over 2,500 years later, this threshold remains the same in the vast majority (90%) of countries. However, as...