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...

Democracy in Israel

Mar 9, 2026 | University of Houston

Israel has long been viewed as “the only democracy in the Middle East,” yet the system of democracy on which the country runs might not be as free and just as it may seem....

Divergent Interests Between Electors and Elected: A Precursor to Democratic Erosion in America

Mar 9, 2026 | University of Houston

Divergent Interests Between Electors and Elected: A Precursor to Democratic Erosion in America In the 2014 paper “Testing Theories of American Politics: Elites, Interest...

Egypt Still Has a Pharaoh: The Al-Sisi Regime

Nov 30, 2022 | Suffolk University

Gone are the days of the ancient Egyptian Kingdom where the great pyramids were built and one of the earliest forms of written communication were developed, but one thing has lingered: the...

“Make Spain Great Again”… Sounds Familiar?

Nov 30, 2022 | Suffolk University

Vox leader Santiago Abascal during campaign rally in Seville 2019 | Cristina Quicler/AFP via Getty Images Vox has risen towards becoming Spain’s third strongest political party over the past years....

How Twitter’s Free Speech Policy for Populists Hurts American Democracy

Nov 29, 2022 | Boston University

On Thursday, October 27, 2022, Elon Musk officially closed his $44 billion deal to purchase the social media site Twitter. In the following weeks, he fired several of Twitter’s top financial and...

Vox, Populism, and Polarization: A Potential Threat to Spanish Democracy

Nov 28, 2022 | Boston University

The rise of populist far-right parties in Europe threatens the continent’s democracies. These parties are dangerous not only because they threaten the political status quo but also because they...

Democratic Erosion in Mexico: AMLO Weakens the Rule of Law

Nov 28, 2022 | Boston University

An effective rule of law is essential for a stable democracy. The Rule of Law is summarized as a “durable system of laws, institutions, norms, and community commitment”. Laws should be publicly...

Censorship in Nicaragua – A Massacre of Media

Nov 28, 2022 | Boston University

Nicaragua’s government is a regime of accelerating oppression, injustice, and terror. Through Daniel Ortega’s 15 year regime, elections have become increasingly unfair, civil unrest has grown, and...

“Amore es pagado con amore” – President Andrés Manuel López Obrador

Nov 27, 2022 | Boston University

(“Love is paid back with love” - President Andrés Manuel López Obrador) Mexican President Andrés Manuel Lopez Obrador greets supporters during a march to support his administration in Mexico City,...

Why the Yellow Vests Movement in France?

Nov 27, 2022 | Boston University

Yellow Vests Protests, one of the social movements in France, also known as the “Yellow Vests Protests”, or the “Yellow Jackets Protests” aka Yellow Vests Movement. Particularly, what were the...

Economic Elite Cooptation in Authoritarianization: The Case of Nazi Germany

Nov 27, 2022 | Boston University

The economic elite in a society wield a disproportionate amount of power when it comes to determining the health of the regime. One such case that is most well-known in this day and age is the Koch...