Teaching Guide on Transitions to Democracy

The teaching guide’s principal objective is to engage students in thinking about the relationship among conflict, peace, political transition, and democracy in preparation for writing an essay on the United States National Peace Essay Contest’s topic on “transitions to democracy”. Specific objectives of the teaching guide are to increase students' understanding of the nature of democracy and historic and contemporary efforts at democratisation; to make students aware of the essential elements that foster and maintain democratic governments and societies; to develop students' analytical reading, writing, and research skills; treinforce students' abilities to collaborate and produce a work product with peers using traditional and electronic means of research, discussion, and document preparation. Six lessons are included in the guide: I. Planning and Design; II. Democracy in Theory and Practice; III. Elements that Foster and Sustain Democracy; IV. Obstacles and Risks of Democratisation; V. Evaluation of Post World War II Efforts at Democratisation; VI. Civil Society: The Underpinning of Democracy.

original connect:http://www.hrea.org/