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...

Epstein’s Files Are More Than Files, They Are A Signal Of Democratic Erosion

Mar 12, 2026 | University of Houston

In a June 2024 Fox News interview, then presidential candidate Donald Trump claimed that when in office, he would support the release of the full Epstein files. These files...

LEARNING RESOURCES, INC., ET AL. v. TRUMP(2026)

Mar 11, 2026 | University of Houston

LEARNING RESOURCES, INC., ET AL. v. TRUMP(2026) The Learning Resource Inc company decision started off as being something so small from a child toy company business...

The End of an Era: It May be Time to Let Twitter Go

Dec 17, 2022 | Skidmore College

Elon Musk has started to run Twitter into the ground. He has laid off about half of the company’s full-time employees, caused chaos after making blue check mark verifications a purchasable...

Winter Is Coming, But We Are Already in a Cold Civil War

Dec 17, 2022 | Skidmore College

Since the recent polarization of American political life, voter suppression and anti-democratic sentiments have been on the forefront of a war against democracy. America is in the heat of...

What If It Was Lebron James: Brittney Griner’s Release and the Bigger Picture

Dec 17, 2022 | Skidmore College

If it were Lebron James or Tom Brady, the United States would have gone to war. What should be celebrated as a win for America, the release of wrongfully detained WNBA star Brittney Griner, has...

Protesting in Mitch McConnell’s Backyard

Dec 17, 2022 | Suffolk University

On June 24th, 2022 the United States Supreme Court issued one of the most controversial decisions in its two centuries of existence. Supreme Court - Source: Unsplash This past summer, having just...

South Korea’s President Moves Forward with Plan to Fulfill Anti-Feminist Campaign Promises

Dec 17, 2022 | Suffolk University

The Blue House, Home of South Korea's Executive Office - Source: Unsplash The success of Yoon’s appeals to anti-feminism reflects the rise of reactionary gender politics within South Korean...

A New Far-Right in Israel: The Descent into Authoritarianism in Jerusalem

Dec 17, 2022 | Skidmore College

On November 1st, Israel held parliamentary elections for the fifth time in 3 years. Results are pointing towards another victory of Benjamin Netanyahu’s Likud Party. His coalition government during...

6 Arrows: Does Modern Turkey Still Follow the Ideology of Ataturk?

Dec 16, 2022 | Suffolk University

Kemalism, also Ataturkism, is the ideology of Turkish nationalism put forward by Mustafa Kemal Ataturk. It is still considered to be the official ideology of the Republic of Turkey. At the Congress...

Democratic Erosion: Threats in the Philippine Democracy

Dec 16, 2022 | University of the Philippines, Diliman

Democratic Erosion (also known as Democratic Backsliding) is an unsettlingly prevalent phenomenon in which competitive elections are undermined, individuals lose the right to mobilize or voice...

Economic Instability in Turkey: An Attempt to Find a New Economic Model or Political Adventure

Dec 16, 2022 | Suffolk University

This story is about an autocrat who has been in big politics for 20 years. Under his rule, the exchange rate of the national currency has collapsed several times, prices have risen incredibly in the...