After many years in which the established democracies have relied entirely on entrenched habits and institutions to sustain democratic citizenship, more recent fears about emerging anti-democratic tendencies, alienated groups and apathetic voters have caused a much more concerted debate about additional efforts, some of them educational and some of them through experimentation with electoral reform, party re-invigoration and direct democracy.
It is sometimes forgotten that established democracies do have their own histories of conflict and stress. A number of the institutions, practices and procedures which do exist emerged from those moments of stress and come into their own at future times when similar problems arise. Other problems faced by these societies may indeed be new and require new institutions.
In the United States of America, civic education curricula have been developed for use in public schools, and such a programme has also been underway in the United Kingdom. Both emerged outside the official state system and relied on lobbying, advocacy and work with individual schools and teachers to motivate for their more universal adoption.
In Germany, the foundations and lay academies that emerged in the early 1950’s after the war to revive citizenship and ensure that there was reconciliation and rehabilitation continue to operate within a political formation framework supported by both federal and provincial government agencies.
As Europe has expanded and integrated, European Union educational programmes, both of a more informative nature and with a deeper educational purpose have been established – the network under the Grundtvig/Socrates project provides information and best practice. The emergence of some incipient transnational citizenship roles suggests a new challenge for educators.
Of course in such highly complex societies as emerge with development and long established democratic practice, it is hard for educators to contemplate universal programmes, and few of these exist. Those seeking to develop such programmes for particular democratic moments will find assistance in the sections on alignment and strategy. Instead educators are working with new migrants, excluded groups, strengthening political parties, promoting human rights campaigns and development education.
Some countries, especially those with missionary or colonial pasts, have used development education to arouse their own citizens to domestic action and international solidarity and compassion. The techniques used in these campaigns need to be finely judged to ensure that they do not just create social mobilization of a short term nature without a concomitant long term commitment to democracy and active citizenship.
