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...

What a shrunken Congress means for democracy in America

Mar 24, 2026 | Suffolk University

Congress plays an essential role in our government. They are the only federal officials directly elected by the American people, yet in recent years, under Republican and...

Where are our Leaders of ’16? The Need for a New Sovereign Republic

Mar 23, 2026 | Salem State University

In February 2026, the United Kingdom government bypassed the Northern Ireland Assembly, making it clear that the democratic institutions promised by the 1998 Good...

Japan: Its Democracy and Freedom of Expression

Jan 5, 2023 | Sabanci University

It is described that the freedom of expression, one of the indispensable elements to remain the nation democratic, in Japan has gradually restricted. Especially in recent decades, this trend is...

Serbia: A case of Competitive Authoritarianism

Jan 5, 2023 | Sabanci University

Serbia: A case of Competitive Authoritarianism After the fall of Milosevic in 2000, democratization process started in Serbia. Along with institutional reforms and adaptation of liberal economic...

Hong Kong, mass protests and their fight against autocratization

Jan 4, 2023 | Sabanci University

In Hong Kong, an unusual kind of protesting started in 2014. Marked by singing and yellow umbrellas, quickly the young students that represented Hong Kong’s peaceful resilience against the growing...

Burkina Faso: a 2022 marked by coups d’état

Jan 4, 2023 | Sabanci University

The two military coups occurred in 2022 in Burkina Faso lead to some conclusions about the development of authoritarian systems On 29 November 2015, general elections were held in Burkina Faso, in...

The Infamous Transformation of SCOTUS: An American Horror Story

Jan 1, 2023 | Sabanci University

In this epoch, it is not seldom to come across an example of backsliding democracy. In a way, this phenomenon defines the gist of our times. However, the kind we witness in the US stands unique with...

Hungary: Europe’s Electoral Autocracy

Jan 1, 2023 | Sabanci University

Democratic backsliding refers to the decline or reversal of democratic principles and practices within a political system. This can be caused by the weakening of democratic institutions and the...

New strategies for avoiding electoral defeat: manoeuvre prior and after elections on the example of Turkey’s

Jan 1, 2023 | Sabanci University

Recep Tayyip Erdogan, a practitioner of new authoritarian methods, initiated in the aftermath of the 2015 parliamentary elections a new concept of authoritarian exercise of power. In 2015, the...

Competitive Authoritarianism in Turkey

Dec 31, 2022 | Sabanci University

In the last decade, Turkey's political system has been characterized by polarization, democratic backsliding, competitive authoritarianism, and populism (Moral, 2021). Although such drastic shifts...

The Effect of Neoliberalism and Populism on American Democratic Erosion

Dec 27, 2022 | University of Denver

What is democratic erosion? Democratic erosion is the phenomena in which government institutions fail to uphold democratic constitutions. There are many ways in which democracies can backslide into...