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 blogs reflect the views of the student authors, and not those of the Democratic Erosion Consortium.

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...

Modern Day Scarlet Letter: Women in Afghanistan Being Shamed for Mens’ Actions

Women in Afghanistan are stuck under the oppressive Tabilan rule. After the 2021, United States withdraw from the country, there has been grave crimes against womne. Gulnaz, a young girl from Afghanistan, has a tragic story but her story does not stand alone. We must speak for these women who cannot. They cannot be forgotten.

When Openness Meets Reality: Immigration and Change in Sweden

Apr 18, 2026 | George Mason University

Sweden has long been seen as one of the most open and humanitarian countries in Europe. For many years, it accepted many refugees and immigrants, especially during the...

Italy’s Nationalism: A History of Italian Populism

Apr 18, 2026 | Boston University

The rise of populism is not a new topic. Across the world, populist leaders are being elected as right-wing parties are taking control in some of the most powerful countries...

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...

Présidence Impériale: Executive Aggrandizement in Macron’s France

Dec 10, 2024 | Brown University

Romantic evening strolls by the Seine, fragrant cafes and boulangeries, political crises and popular unrest—what is more quintessentially French than these classic Parisian experiences? France, one...

In the U.S. and Western Europe, similar immigration backlash is a symptom of two different problems.

Dec 9, 2024 | Brown University

As the United States and Western European countries confront historic surges in migration, the backlash-fueled success of far-right parties has increasingly been characterized as a global...

Time to Say Au Revoir to Laïcité

Dec 9, 2024 | Brown University

For the past three decades, one article of clothing has captivated the attention of the fashion capital of the world: headscarves. From Marine Le Pen to Emmanuel Macron, no French politician has...