POLITICS AND DEMOCRACY

Teacher’s Guide
Topics
Intro – Are people born good or bad?
1. What is society and social diversity?
2. What is social class?
3. What is a state?
4. What is a nation?
5. How were the modern states in South-east Asia formed?
6. Political theories
7. Economic systems
8. The beginning of democracy
9. What is government?
10. Political vocabulary
11. What is democracy?
12. Basic principles of democratic governance
13. De facto and De jure
14. Authoritarian democracy and abuse of power
15. Roles of government
16. Separation of powers
17. Presidential and parliamentary systems
US presidential system
UK parliamentary system
Heads of state / heads of government
18. Elections
19. Social diversity, majority rule and representation of minorities
20. Coalition governments
21. How laws are made
22. Constitution
23. Unitary and Federal States
24. Federalism and Burma
25. Democratic transitions
26. Transitional justice
27. Consolidating a new democratic government

Acknowledgement:
Some extracts from Curriculum Project’s Systems of Democracy module, Earthrights’
Government module, DEP’s Community and Nation State module and the PDP –
Democracy and Political Transitions unit have been used or adapted in compiling this
module.

1
Intro - Are people born bad or good?

Activity: Cut several sheets of paper into four pieces. Cut each sheet in a different way so
that all the pieces are different. (The number of sheets depends on the number of students).
Give each student one piece of paper. Tell them that they have to find the other people whose
pieces, together with their piece will form a whole sheet of paper.
Then get the students to sit in these groups.

Explain: There are many discussions around the world as to whether people are inherently
(naturally) good or bad. Some people believe everybody is born good, and later become
bad. Other people have the opposite opinion.

In small groups, discuss:

Do you think people are born bad or born good? Why?

If people are born good and become bad:

 Why do people become bad?
• How can we stop people becoming bad?
 What would society be like without laws?
• How should we punish people who become bad,
so that they become better?

If people are born bad and become good:

 How do we become good?
 Why do some people not become good?
 What would society be like without laws?
How
•?
can we make people who don’t become good
change their behaviour
As a class, discuss the groups’ answers?

Ask: If we look at many wars and dictatorships around the world today and in the past,
civilians have done very terrible things to each other. In peace time these people would never
do these things. What makes people behave in this way?

2
1. What is society and social diversity?

Community

As a class brainstorm what is a community?

Write students ideas on the board. It doesn’t matter if their ideas are right or wrong.

Explain:

A community is a group of people who have things in common.

Often communities are groups of people who live in the same
place, e.g. in a village or a town.
Possible answers:
But communities could also be spread all over the world, e.g.
the Buddhist community.
We could think of a community as people who do the same

As a class brainstorm different types of communities.

Possible answers: Farmers, teachers, refugees, NGOs, students,

Christian, Hindu, Burmese, Chin, Arakan, rich, poor etc

Ask students to make a list of all the different communities that they belong to.
What does it mean to be a member of a community?

Possible answers:
- School communities, ethnic communities, village communities, organisation
communities, work related communities etc
- Belonging to a community means people expect you to have loyalty towards
the community, and to care about the interests of the community. Members
of a community can get support from other communities. A community may
have its own set of rules.

Society

Ask the students: What is a society?

As a class brainstorm and write the students’ ideas on the board.

Explain:

The word society means larger groups of people that share

political and economic systems, language, and history.
The word society means a very large group of people. They all
have their own special needs and interests, depend on each
other for survival, and share a similar way of life. We may talk
about Australian society or Burmese society or Indian society,
meaning the entire population of Australia, Burma and India.
Society is made up of many different social groups and

3
Social Diversity

Explain:

In some communities the people might have many things in

common. They might all be of the same ethnic and religious
groups, speak the same language and do the same jobs.
This kind of community is described as homogeneous (the same
kind).
But most communities and societies are made up of people
from many different ethnic groups, religious groups and speak
many different languages and do different jobs.

Ask the students to think about the communities where they live. Would they describe them
as homogeneous or socially diverse?

Get the students to read ‘What is society?’

4
2. What is social class?

Social Class

Ask the students:

What is the meaning of social class? How are people from

different classes different? How are their lifestyles different? Do

Read ‘Social Class’, then answer the questions below the reading.
As a class discuss the students’ answers.

The Caste System

Explain:

The caste system in India is an example of social immobility.

The caste system originated from Hindu tradition thousands of
years ago.
All the people in India belonged to different castes, and they
could not change caste. Usually they would have to marry
someone from the same caste.
Although a law was made to try to end the caste system, it has
Read ‘The caste system’, then answer the questions below the reading.
Discuss the students’ answers.

Discussion:
The caste system is part of Hindu culture, but it opposes the idea
that all people have the right to be treated equally.
- What do you think of the caste system? Do you think Hindu
society should be able to keep the caste system since it is part of
their culture?
- Even though the caste system is no longer legal, why do you
think it still exists? Do you think it is easy to change Hindu

5
3. What is a state?

State

 As a class, brainstorm, what students think are the meanings of state and nation? Ask the
students to think of examples of states and nations?

*If this is difficult you could ask the students the difference between ‘Chin State’ and the
‘Chin Nation’. Then ask them for other examples.

Read ‘What is a state?’ then answer the questions below the reading.

4. What is a nation?

Nation

Read the paragraphs on ‘Nation’.

Answer: Do you think these examples are ethnic or civic nations?

Answers:
Chin ______ethnic____
Thai ______civic_____
Burmese ______civic_____
American ______civic_____
Aborigine (Native people of Australia) ______ethnic____
Mon ______ethnic____

Review

What is the difference between a community and a society?

What is the difference between a state and a nation?
What is social class?
What is social mobility?
What is sovereignty?

6
5. How were the modern states in Southeast Asia formed?

Get the students to label the countries on the map of South Asia.

Answers:

China

India Nepal
Bhutan

Bangladesh

Burma

Vietnam
Laos

Thailand

Cambodia

Sri Lanka

Malaysia

Indonesia

Singapore

Explain:

These are the modern states of Asia. Before colonialism the

states (countries) did not exist in this way. Many of the modern
countries we know today in Asia were created by colonial powers.
One exception is Thailand. The country of Thailand was not

7
Give the students time to read ‘The end of Colonialism in Southeast Asia’.

Ask the students to decide if the sentences below the reading are true or false:

1. Colonial powers did not create the states in Southeast

Asia.
2. British control on Burma increased after 1879.
3. Burmese political organisations supported British rule.
4. Resistance to British rule made communities unite as
nations.
5. Nationalists did not want single nations in independent
states.

Answers:
1. False
2. True
3. False
4. True (Although you could ask the students whether they think this
is true for Burma. Did the country unite, or did the Ethnic States
still want separation?)
5. False
6. True
7. False

Discussion:
What problems have been created by colonisation?
What problems have been caused by the British deciding
borders? Where are there conflicts over borders? How have ethnic
minorities been affected?
What benefits have come from colonisation?
If countries were created by the British deciding borders, should

8
6. Political Theories

Read out loud the section on political theories.

Divide the class into small groups. Get the students to work in these groups to answer the
following questions:

For each political theory, discuss:

What do you think is good about the political theory?
What do you think is bad?
What problems could each theory have?
Which theory do you think is best? Why?

*Note - Encourage the students to think deeply about these ideas and to discuss among
themselves. Encourage them to think of reasons why.
If people in the groups have different opinions, that is fine.
Get the groups to write their answers on butcher paper.

Possible answers:
Liberal Capitalism –
Businesses can become very rich, whilst other people stay poor.
With world trade, rich countries make money from poor countries.
The rich become richer, the poor become poorer.
When businesses are owned by private individuals the quality and service
often gets worse, as businesses try to make more profit.
The environment cannot sustain capitalist culture (see environment)
Social Democracy –
Good, if the government has good rules for businesses and fair taxes.
Communism –
Good in theory, but hasn’t worked in practice. (Think of Communist
countries)
Fascism -
Good idea to share wealth fairly – how would this be done?
Nationalistic / racist views / oppression of minorities are not good.
Anarchy –
Having no government could create many problems.
Good to share land.
Monarchy -
In an absolute monarchy the King may have too much power. A constitutional
monarchy is better.
Autocracy - Too much power, exploitation, human rights abuse etc.

Get the groups to present their answers. Discuss the answers and ideas.

9
7. Economic Systems

Explain:

Economic systems are the ways money, business and trade are
organised in a country.
Different political theories have different ideas about how much

Read ‘Economic systems’ and answer the questions below.

Answers:
1. In a capitalist economy the means of production are privately
owned, and private companies and businesses make profit. In a
centralised economy the government controls the means of
production.
2. Subsistence. In theory communism.
3. Students’ own opinions.

10
8. The Beginning of Democracy

 As a class brainstorm:

What do you know about democracy?

Write students ideas on the board.

Lecture: (Write key words and facts on the board)

Democracy is a word from Greek and it means 'rule by the

people'.

About 2500 years ago some city states in Greece began electing
their leaders and voting on what laws they should have and what
they wanted their city's governments to do.

Not all Greeks were allowed to vote. Children, women, slaves,

foreigners and people who weren't born in the city were not
citizens and could not vote.

Greek citizens took part in public debates and carried out the
work of government and the military, in addition to voting. People
who didn't take part were seen as lazy and as bad citizens.

At this time, Greek writers began discussing political ideas:

 What rights should people have?
 Who should be allowed to take part in political decisions?
 Should slavery exist?

(This is also in the student book)

When Greeks in Athens at this time needed to appoint people to
work for the government, they selected them by lot.
All those who were willing to do the work put their names
forward, and one name was picked out at random.
The Greeks believed this was a good system, because everybody
had a chance of being selected, regardless of whether they were
rich or poor, or popular or not.

Demonstration:
Tell the students to imagine that the class is going to select a class leader, using two different
methods.

1. Give each student a small piece of paper and ask them to write
their name on it.
Get the students to put their pieces of paper in a box.
Select one name from the box and announce that this person

11
 2. Now explain that you will use a second method to select a
class leader.
Ask for three volunteers to come to the front of the class.
Explain that they are the candidates to be class leader.
Give each student two minutes to talk about what they would
do if they were class leader (they don’t need to speak in English).
Now ask the class to vote to choose a candidate by raising
their hands.
In small groups, ask the students to discuss the benefits and problems of the two methods.
Which method do they prefer? Why?
Discuss the groups ideas.

Read ‘The beginning of democracy’, and answer the questions below.

12
9. Government

Ask the students to tell you: What is government?

Write their answers on the board.

Read the dictionary definitions in the reading ‘What is government?’

Divide the class into small groups.

Ask the groups to make a list:

Ten things we want our government to do
for us?

Then ask the students to make another list:

Ten responsibilities the people have to the
government and the running of the
country.

Get one or two groups to present their lists. What ideas were most common? Which ideas
do the students think are most important?

10. Political vocabulary

*All the concepts on this list are explained in the rest of the module. This is just a reference
page.

13
11. What is democracy?

Give the students time to read ‘What is democracy’, and answer the questions below.

Answers:
1. Human dignity means that every human being should be valued and
respected. It is something that belongs to every human being, and should not
be taken away by the state.
2. Human dignity is protected through human rights and freedoms.
3. In a direct democracy everybody in a community meets to discuss and
make decisions. In a representative democracy, the community selects
representatives to meet, discuss and make decisions on their behalf.
4. A problem with direct democracy is that in large communities it is not
possible for everybody to meet and discuss. Also, with large numbers of people,
reaching agreements on decisions could take a very long time.
Problems with representative democracy could be; representatives are
usually from majority groups, so minority groups are not represented (see
later); the representative might act in their own personal interest and not in
the interest of the people.
(Plus other possible answers.)
5. Accountability means that the government must act on behalf of the
people and do what the people want. It also means that the people can express
disapproval and criticism if they are not happy with what the government is
doing, and that the government should change its actions accordingly.

Ask the students; In Burma, or in your ethnic communities, are people able to criticize their
leaders. What can people do if they don’t like what their leaders are doing?
Do you agree that the people should be able to criticize their leaders?

Write on the board:

Until very recently, the majority of human beings have been
subject to non-democratic rulers. And the heads of non-
democratic regimes have usually tried to justify their rule by
claiming that most people are not competent to participate in a
governing state. Most people would be better off if they would
only leave the complicated business of governing the country to
Discuss:
What does this statement mean? Do you agree with this statement?
Do you think most people are not competent to govern a state? Why / why not?
Should people leave the running of the country to wiser people? Why / why not?
Who would decide who the wiser people are?
Should running a country be the responsibility of all the people, or just a few.

14
Discuss students’ answers to the questions 6 and 7 in ‘What is democracy’.

12. Basic principles of democratic governance.

Explain

Today, there are many democratic countries around the world.

But none of these countries are exactly the same – each
democracy is a bit different from the others.
But each democracy supports values of human rights and
freedoms, and there are a number of principles that people in
democracies support.

1. Many authoritarian rulers tell the people that they should

stay out of the affairs of running the country.
Democracy has the opposite view. In a democracy, citizen
participation is very important. The people in a country have
the duty to learn about what is happening in their country, to
vote in elections, to debate issues, and to attend meetings.

2. Democracies believe that all people are equal, regardless

of race, gender, social class, religion etc.

3. In a democracy the people and the government must allow

people and groups with different views and opinions to exist and
speak out, and must respect their rights. This could be people
from different political groups, minority groups, different ethnic or
religious groups etc. This is called political tolerance.

4. In a democracy there must be accountability. This means

the government must act according to the will of the people, and
not themselves.

5. There must be transparency. This means the people in

the country must be informed of what is happening in the country
and of what the government is doing. The government should not
Get the students to read the first page of ‘Basic principals of democratic government’.
Then select students to each read a principle out loud, and others to explain each principle in
their own words.

7. People in a democracy should have some form of

economic freedom. This means they should be allowed to own
private businesses, choose their jobs, and form unions. However,
different democracies have different opinions regarding the
amount of control the government should have over a country’s
economy.

8. Governments must be prevented from abusing power.

Abuses of power such as, corruption or violation of human rights,
are not acceptable in a democracy. Control of abuse of power
15
 9. Many democratic countries have a Bill of Rights which is a
written document that lists all the rights and freedoms entitled to
the people of the country.

10. If the political party that is in power in the country loses an

election, they must accept the results of the election, and step
down.

11. Democracies work to respect and protect the human rights

and freedoms of the people in the country. They value human life
and human dignity.

12. There must be a multi-party system. Which means more

than one political party must be allowed to exist, participate in
elections, and have a role in the government.
Get the students to read the second page of ‘Basic principles of democratic governance’.
Then select students to each read a principle out loud, and others to explain each principle in
their own words.

Review

Get the students to close their books. Read out brief descriptions of each principle (in a
random order). Get the students to write down the name of principle you are describing.
Check their answers.

or

Matching activity:
Photocopy and cut up the page below (into titles and definitions)
Get the students to match the titles to the definitions.

16
 Handout 1

Citizen participation The people have the right and the duty to take part in a
democracy. This includes voting in elections and paying
taxes.

Equality All people are equal, regardless of their gender, race or

religion.

Political tolerance The ruling majority must respect the rights of

minorities. People who are not in power must be
allowed to organise and speak out.

Accountability Governments must work for the people and not for
themselves. They are responsible for their actions.

Transparency The government must inform the people of what is

happening in the country. The press should be able to
get information.

Elections Should be regular, free and fair.

Economic freedom People should be allowed to own their own property

and businesses. He government should not control the
economy.

Control abuse of power There should be protection against problems such as

corruption.

Bill of rights A part of the constitution that states the rights and
freedoms of the people.

Accepting election results If a government loses an election they must give up

power.

Human rights Everyone is entitled to values that respect human life

and dignity, such as freedom of speech.

Multi-party system There should be more than one political party. There
should be opposition to the party that wins the election.

Rule of law No one is above the law. Everyone must obey the law.

17
13. De facto and de jure.

Often when we talk about government we talk about ‘power’.

Brainstorm what ‘power’ means.

Dictionary definition: The ability to control people and things.

Political control of a country.

Ask: How do people get power / become powerful?

Explain:

De facto and De jure are two ways to describe a government.

A de facto government is the government in a country which has

the power. It is the government which is running the country.
This government may or may not have been legally elected.

De facto is a Latin word, it means of fact.

A de jure government is the legal government of a country. It is the

government that was legally chosen or elected to run the country.
This government may or may not actually have power.

De jure means of law, in Latin.

Summary
De facto – has power (may or may not be legal)
De jure – legally chosen (may or may not have power)

Ask the students to read ‘De facto and de jure’, and to decide if the examples below are de
facto or de jure, or both.

Answers:
1. De facto – the leader has power but he is not legal.
2. De facto and de jure – the leader was legally elected and has power.
3. De facto – the government has power but was not legally elected.
4. De jure – the party was legally elected but was not allowed to take power.
5. De facto and de jure – legally elected and has power.
6. Originally the leader was de facto and de jure, but after 1994 the leader
refuses to hold elections, and then is only de facto.
7. De facto. Pinochet seized power in a coup.

18
14. Authoritarian democracy and abuse of power.

Authoritarian democracy

Explain Authoritarian Democracy:

Some countries in South East Asia have systems of rule that do not
fit with any one political theory. Although the countries may claim
to be democratic, there are many parts of their political system
that do not match with democracy. The name Authoritarian

Get students to read ‘Authoritarian democracy’, and then work in pairs to complete the
table showing the similarities and differences between democracy and authoritarian
democracy.

Possible answers:
Democracy Authoritarian Democracy
Hold elections Holds elections (sim)
Allows other parties and political activityDoes not allow other parties and / or
makes political activity illegal (dif)
Opposition parties could be elected Impossible for parties other than the
ruling party to be elected (dif)
Criticism of the government is allowed Criticism of the government is
considered criminal (dif)
Police and judges are separate from the Police and judges are closely linked with
government the government (dif)
Media is free Media is controlled by the government
(dif)
Government must use money to benefit Government can use money to benefit
everybody their supporters (dif)
Democracy helps a government to develop Democracy comes after a country has
its economy developed its economy (dif)
Political activity strengthens the country Political activity leads to disorder and
can destroy the country (dif)
A bad government can be voted out of It is difficult to get rid of a bad
office government (dif)
Less corruption More corruption (dif)

Abuse of power

In pairs make a list of all the ways governments can abuse power.
Discuss the student’s lists.

19
Corruption

Explain – One very common abuse of power is corruption.

Ask the students what corruption means.

Corruption – dishonest or illegal behaviour, especially of people in

authority.
As a class brainstorm – Examples of corruption.

Explain:
Corruption exists everywhere. But in some countries there is a lot
of corruption, and in other countries there is less. In some
countries corruption is very obvious; it is a part of everyday life. In
other countries corruption is hidden, so many people may believe
it doesn’t exist.

Corruption in politics is when politicians use their positions to

benefit themselves instead of the whole country. Corrupt politicians
use their positions to make money or to stay in power. But
corruption can exist at all levels - within the government, in
powerful businesses, and in everyday society.

A study in Asia in 2001 showed that Singapore, Hong Kong and

Japan have quite low levels of corruption. Singapore and Hong
Kong have programs to actively fight corruption.
But in Thailand, India, Indonesia and Vietnam corruption is very
high. In fact, in these countries corruption has got a lot worse over
the past 6 years.
Ask the students to give some examples of corruption in politics, business or in everyday
society.

Some examples of corruption:

Cheating in exams, getting other people to sit your exams. In
Cambodia the problem got so big that students were throwing their
exam papers out of the window for their friends or relatives to
complete.
In Thailand, President Thaksin was indicted for illegal concealment
of assets. The verdict was overturned shortly before Thaksin came
to power.
In Indonesia the son of the former president Suharto was found
guilty of the murder of a judge who convicted him of corruption
charges. Suharto himself was accused of stealing from the country
In the US, powerful politicians will give government contracts
(especially for military equipment) to businesses that support
them.
The British government has been 20accused of offering to give
countries financial aid if they agree to buy weapons from their
countries.
Ask the class: Why do you think corruption harms a country? What are the effects of
corruption?

Explain: Some countries have anti-corruption agencies, designed to stop corruption. Both
Singapore and Hong Kong have programs to fight corruption.

In small groups:

Imagine you are an anti-corruption agency, set up to fight

corruption in your country. How would you reduce corruption, in the

Discuss the groups’ answers.

21
Activity - What would you do?

Explain:

Governments have the responsibility to rule the country fairly, in

the interest of the people’s dignity and rights. But the people also
have the responsibility to behave in an acceptable way, and to
consider the interests of other people. Sometimes problems arise
when people do not act in the interests of everybody. Sometimes
people do not want to cooperate with the rest of society. This can
Divide the class into small groups. Give each group a copy of this scenario, then read it to
the students:

In Britain there is a system called ‘social benefits’. This means that

if people lose their jobs and cannot find work, the government will
give them money to live, and will pay the rent on their houses.
People can get money, but they must also try to find a new job.

But some people are not interested in working. They don’t

want a job. These people only want to claim money from the
government. They pretend to look for a job, but really they stay at
home and watch TV.

Get students to work in groups to think of solutions to the problem.

Discuss their ideas.

Now give the students this second scenario to discuss in the same groups:
There is a new deadly disease that is very easy to catch.
Everybody can catch the disease, but only children and the elderly
die from the disease.
When adults catch the disease they do not feel any effects, and
may not know they have it, but they can pass it on to others.
Luckily a vaccine has recently been discovered, but only adults can
take it. If all adults took the vaccine, then it is possible the disease
would disappear. Hospitals are charging $10 for the vaccine. All
people over the age of sixteen are asked to go to the hospital and
receive the vaccine.

Unfortunately, only 75% of adults have gone to the hospital to get

the vaccine. There are many reasons why some haven't taken the
vaccine.
1) Some are lazy and don't want to go to the hospital to take
the vaccine.
2) Some want to spend their money on other things, instead

22
Discuss the groups’ ideas.

15. Roles of government

Explain:

As we’ve discussed, democracy is based on human dignity and the

rights and freedoms that belong to every human being.
Laws are made to protect human rights and freedoms.
But there are also laws that limit (control) our freedoms. These
laws are to ensure that people behave in a way that is good for the
community, society or country as a whole, and not just for

Give the students time to read through ‘Roles of government’.

In small groups ask the students to try to think of some examples of laws that are
necessary, but might not be in our direct self-interest (i.e. they limit our freedoms).

e.g. Restricting the cutting down of trees. This would benefit someone personally, but not the
community in the long term.

What freedoms are being limited by these laws?

Discuss the groups’ ideas.

23
16. Separation of Powers

Ask the class; How much power do you think the leader of a country should have? Should
they be able to do whatever they think is best for the country? Should people be able to
disagree with them, or stop some of their actions?

Explain:

One of the principles of democracy said that abuse of power should

be controlled.
One way that this is done is by dividing power between different
parts of the government.
This is called ‘separation of powers.’
Democracy believes that no one person or group should hold all

Give students time to read ‘Separation of Powers’.

Answer these questions:

1. What is ‘separation of powers’?
2. What is the ‘legislature’?
3. What is the ‘judiciary’?
4. What is the ‘executive’?
5. Why do governments need separation of powers?

Answers:
1. Separation of powers is when different parts of the government
share the power and have different jobs.
2. The legislature is the part of the government that makes the laws.
3. The judiciary administer and enforce the laws.
4. The executive run other parts of the government and the economy.
5. Governments need separation of powers to stop people in the
government becoming too powerful. It also ensures that the government
obeys the laws.

Discuss; Why do you think it is not good for one person or group to hold all the power in a
country?

24
17. Presidential and Parliamentary systems

Explain:

Presidential and parliamentary systems are both systems of

democratic governments.
They have many similarities, and also many differences.
The parliamentary system first evolved in Great Britain, and today
it is practiced in most of Europe and in many countries that used to
be British colonies.
The presidential system is practiced in countries including the

Now give the students time to look at the diagrams of presidential and parliamentary
systems. Go through each of the diagrams slowly to make sure they understand.

Read page 25. Make a table or list of the similarities and differences between US
presidential and UK parliamentary systems.

Possible answers:
US Presidential
Legislature and executive are elected
separately by the people.
The leader of the executive is called the
president.
The legislature is known as Congress.
The legislature has two parts – The
Senate and the House of Representatives.
Judiciary is separate form the legislature
and the executive.
The president is the head of government
and the head of state.
UK Parliamentary
People elect the legislature, and the
legislature elects the executive.
The leader of the executive is called the
prime minister.
The legislature is known as Parliament.
The legislature has two parts – The House
of Lords and The House of Commons.
Judiciary is separate form the legislature
and the executive.
The prime minister is the head of
government; the head of state is the
Queen.

Read ‘Presidential and Parliamentary systems of government’.

Answer these questions:

1. What countries have parliamentary systems of government?
2. What countries have presidential systems of government?
3. Explain ‘proportional representation’ in your own words.
4. What is an advantage of proportional representation?
5. Explain the advantages of the presidential system.
6. What is a weakness of presidential systems?

25
 Answers:
1. Great Britain, most of Europe, the Caribbean, Canada, India, many
countries in Africa and Asia (often ex-British colonies).
2. Latin America, the Philippines, France, Poland and the United States.
3. Proportional representation means the number of seats a party has in
government depends on the number of votes they win.
4. Small political parties and minority groups are represented.
5. Advantages of the presidential system are direct accountability,
continuity and strength. (The president was elected directly by the people,
so he has direct accountability to the people).
6. Weaknesses of the presidential system are possible conflicts between
the executive and the Congress, and possibility of stalemate (neither side
can agree).
A president is separate from the legislature, and therefore has no
control over it.

Do the ‘Presidential and parliamentary democracy worksheet’

Answers:
1. Presidential
2. Parliamentary
3. Parliamentary
4. Parliamentary
5. Something else - ?communism
6. Something else - dictatorship
7. Presidential
8. Parliamentary

26
18. Elections
 Ask the students: Have you ever voted in elections? What were the elections for? What
was the process of these elections?

Read ‘Elections’ and in pairs answer the questions below.

Discuss students’ answers.

 Explain:

In ancient Greece, people used to vote in public meetings using a

system called ‘open vote’. An example of open voting is when
everybody in a meeting votes by raising their hands to show their
opinions. In this system everyone knows who or what everyone
else is voting for.
Today, most democracies use secret ballots (votes). This is when
the voters write their vote secretly on a piece of paper, and put it
in a box. Nobody knows what they voted for.

Most people would say that secret vote is better. Since nobody knows what
other people have voted for, people won’t copy the majority decision. They
don’t need to worry that other people might disagree with their choice of
vote.
In an open vote it is possible that some people will be influenced by the
majority decision.

Read ‘Different ways to organize elections’ and ‘Problems with elections’.

As a class brainstorm: What do we need for elections to be fair and democratic?

Explain the criteria needed for elections to be democratic. List the main points on the
board.

Elections can be held in authoritarian countries, as well as

democratic countries. For elections to be considered democratic
several criteria must be met:
1. There must be a real choice, which people can vote for.
2. The must be universal suffrage, which means everyone
above a certain age must have the right to vote.
3. All votes must have equal value – for example, the votes of
wealthy people should not be considered more important than
the votes of the poor.
4. There must be secret ballots – people should be able to
vote without others knowing their choice.
27
Read ‘When are elections considered democratic?’

Proportional representation and first past the post

Explain ‘proportional representation’ and ‘first past the post’.

Imagine you are taking part in a running race. There is US$1000 for
prize money, and the officials decide to give all the prize money to
the winner of the race. The first person past the winning post gets
all the money. Those who come second, third and fourth get
nothing.

You finish in second place. Do you think the system with the prize
money is fair?

The following year the race is run again. This time the officials
decide to give the winner US$500, second place US$300, and third

The example with the running race can be compared to two

systems for deciding the results of elections, first past the post and
proportional representation:

First past the post:

Imagine a country has three political parties, X, Y and Z. There are
100 seats in the government of the country.
Elections are held and people vote for the party they prefer.
The results of the elections show that X got 10% of the votes, Y got
55% and Z got 35%.
Party Y is the winner and take all 100 seats in the government and
its leader becomes prime minister.

Proportional representation:
Another country has three political parties, A, B and C. They also
have 100 seats in the government.
Elections are held, and Party A gets 60% of the votes, party B gets
25% and party C gets 15%.

Party A is the winner, its leader becomes prime minister, but it only
takes 60% of the seats. Party B takes 25% of the seats and party C

Discuss: Which system do you think is most fair? Why? What is a problem with the first-
past-the-post system?

Read ‘Proportional Representation vs First past the Post’, answer the questions.

28
Explain:

When elections are held in Britain and the US the countries are
divided into areas, and the people in each area vote to choose an
MP to represent them in parliament.
Within these areas the FPTP system is used – the candidate with
the most votes wins (and becomes a member of parliament).
The party with the most winners of areas (i.e. the most MPs)
becomes the government, but in this case proportional
representation is used. The number of seats each party gets
depends on how many areas they win. The losing party will still get
seats in parliament.
One difficulty for voters in Britain is to decide whether to vote for
the best party for their area, or for the best party for the country as
a whole.

A different system is used in elections for the president of the US.

For the US presidential elections each state is allocated a number
of electoral representatives depending on the population of the
state. States with larger populations have more electoral
representatives. The total number of electoral representatives for
the US is 514.

Divide the students into small groups. Tell them they need to design a system for election
in a newly democratic Burma. The system needs to be fair, and represent the needs of all the
people.

Get some groups to present their ideas. Discuss their ideas.

29
19. Social diversity, majority rule and representation of minorities

Ask the students to think back to the reading on elections. What does ‘first past the post’
mean? What does ‘proportional representation, mean? What was the problem with FPTP?

Example:

Imagine a country that is made up of people from several

different religions. There are Hindu’s, Muslims, Christians,
Buddhists and Animist. In this country 60 % of the population is
Buddhist, 20% Muslim, 10% Christian, 5% Hindu and 5% Animist.
The political parties represent different religions.

If FPTP is used, what religion will the government be? Will the
other religions be represented?

A. Now imagine the country is divided into 20 areas, and each area
has to vote for a representative. In each area there are people of
all five religions, the religions are spread equally throughout the
country. (It might help to draw this on the board).

What religion will the representatives be? Will everybody be

represented?

B. Now imagine the Buddhists are the majority in 14 areas, the

Muslims the majority in 5, the Christians in 1, and the Hindus and
Animists are not a majority in any areas.

What will be the religions of the representatives in the

government? Are all the religions represented?

Now imagine that the government of this country is decided by

proportional representation where the number of representatives
for each religion depends on the percentage of the religion in the
population.

How many representatives of each religion would there be?

Explain: This example links the political parties to different religions. But in democracy
people generally believe that politics should be secular. This means that politics should not
be connected with religious matters. Although in reality this is often difficult to achieve.

30
Now give the students time to read ‘Majority rule and representation of minorities’.
Discuss students answers to the question below.

Explain how to do a crossword and give the students the politics crossword to do.

Answers:
P A R L I A M E N T A R Y *** ***
A *** U *** *** C *** V *** E *** *** *** M Y
R U L E *** C *** E *** M *** *** *** O ***
T *** E *** C O R R U P T I O N ***
I *** O *** *** U *** *** N *** O *** *** A ***
C A F E *** N A T I O N *** C R Y
I *** L *** *** T *** *** T *** G *** *** C ***
P *** A *** C A S T E *** A R C H ***
A *** W *** *** B *** H *** *** *** *** *** *** S
T *** *** U N I V E R S A L *** *** Y
E V E ' *** L *** P *** E *** *** *** *** S
*** *** *** I *** I L O *** L *** I *** *** T
*** *** *** T *** T *** S U F F R A G E
J U R E *** Y *** T *** *** *** A *** *** M
*** *** *** D *** *** *** *** E T H N I C ***

31
 Handout 2

Across: Down:
1. Not a presidential system. 1. All citizens should _____ in
6. Where is __ book? a democracy.
7. The king ______ the country. 2. No one is above the law.
8. Vote buying is an example of this. 3. Governments are responsible
11. A place where you can eat food. to the people.
12. A group of people – ethnic or civic. 4. I’ll live for ______.
13. You do this if you are unhappy. 5. Short for temporary.
14. The Indian class system. 6. A king.
15. A curved structure. 9. Join together.
18 and 23. Everyone has the right to vote. 10. Country with absolute monarchy
20. Not odd. 15. First past …
21. Short for International Labour Organisation. 17. A particular way of doing
24. Elected government – De ____. Something.
25. Not a civic nation. 18. Past tense of 9 down.
19. My_____, him_____
22. Neighbour of Iraq.

1 2 3 4 5 *** ***
*** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** 6

7 *** *** *** *** *** *** ***

*** *** 8 9 10 ***
*** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** ***
11 *** 12 *** 13
*** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** ***
*** *** 14 15 *** 16 ***
*** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** 17

*** *** 18 19 *** ***

20 *** *** *** *** *** *** ***
*** *** *** *** 21 *** *** 22 *** ***
*** *** *** *** *** 23
24 *** *** *** *** *** *** ***
*** *** *** *** *** *** *** 25 ***

32
20. Coalition governments

Ask: What does ‘coalition government’ mean?

Explain:

To win an election a party has to win enough votes. Countries set a

minimum percentage of votes that a party must win to be able to
take leadership.
Sometimes when there is an election there is no party that wins
the required percentage of votes.
In this situation two (or more) parties may agree to work together.
When they do this, they are forming a coalition.
When forming a coalition government, the parties involved have to
meet and discuss what their policies will be and who will take
leadership positions in the government. Once they have agreed,

Read ‘Coalition Governments’. Answer these questions and the questions below the
reading.

1. Why do parties usually form coalition governments?

2. When are coalition governments more stable?
3. Why don’t France, the United States and Russia have
coalition governments?
4. When did Britain form a coalition government?
5. Which countries have coalitions consisting of many parties?

Answers:
1. Because no party on its own has a majority in parliament.
2. When the coalition involves a majority parliament in government.
3. Because the cabinet is chosen by the president.
4. During the Second World War.
5. Belgium, India, Finland

Information: One example of a government coalition in war time is Britain during WWII.
At this time the British government set aside their differences and formed a coalition
government led by Winston Churchill. This was to maintain unity in the government at a
time of great crisis.

33
21. How laws are made

 In pairs, brainstorm: How many laws can you think of in three minutes?

 Discuss:

Why are laws important? Who makes the laws in your country?
Who should make the laws? How are the laws made? How do you
think laws should be made? Should the government be able to
make any law it wants?

Read ‘How laws are made’.

Discussion questions: In multi ethnic countries, different ethnic groups may have different
cultural beliefs of right and wrong. What is acceptable in one culture may be unacceptable
in another.
Should laws for such a country be made by the central government, or should there be
different laws decided by each state?

Ask the students if they can think of any examples where beliefs in their culture might
contradict certain laws.

34
22. Constitution

 Ask the students: What is a constitution? Why do we need a constitution? What is the
difference between a constitution and an ordinary law?

Read ‘What is a constitution’, and answer the questions below.

What can a constitution do? Get the students to write down yes or no to each of the
following.

A constitution can:
1. Say how long a government is allowed to stay in power.
2. Say what religion people must be.
3. Say how often elections are to be held.
4. Say who is allowed to vote.
5. Stop the government from breaking the law.
6. Protect the rights of minority groups.

Answers:
1. yes 4. yes
2. no 5. no
3. yes 6. yes

 Explain:

A constitution can be defined as, a set of rules that govern political

bodies.
This means it is a set of rules that tell governments what they can
and can’t do.

Codified constitution – This is used to describe a constitution that is

written down in a single document. It explains how a nation or
state is ruled, how legislation is passed and how power is shared
and limited.
The constitution also reinforces the human rights of the people in
the state.

The constitution is seen as superior to other laws, and it can

overrule other laws.
It is also difficult to change the constitution. The government
cannot easily change the constitution.

Some countries, such as Britain, do not have a single written

document as a constitution. Many people will claim that such
countries do not have a constitution.
35
But others claim that these countries have uncodified
23. Unitary and Federal States

 Discuss: What is a unitary state? What is a federal state? Which countries have federal
systems?

Explain:
A unitary system means that the power of sovereignty (the highest
power in the country) is held only by the central government.
A federal system is when this power is shared between a central
government and the governments of each state within the federal
union.
A federal system is formed when independent states or countries
voluntarily join together. The central government holds some
power. There is also a separate government in each state who hold
some power and make decisions about how each state should be
governed.
e.g. The United States, Switzerland, the European Union (a
federation of many different countries)

The United States of America (USA) is a good example of a

federation.

Read ‘Unitary and Federal states’, this vocabulary will help.

Central government - Government that runs the country

Regional government - Government that runs the regions
Local government - Authorities that run the cities, towns
and rural areas. (Most
cities around the world have their own
government.
Centralised - All the power is held by the central
government
Decentralised - A large amount of power is held by
regional governments
*Note – there are different degrees of decentralization.
Unitary system - Highest power in the country is held
by central government
only
Sovereignty - The highest power in an independent
country
Autonomy - Self-rule / self-governing
Uniform system - Same system is used all over the

36
 Most modern states have a unitary government.
In some states power is very centralized (all held by the central
government).
Other states give some small power to regional governments
(some decentralization). But the central government decides and
controls the systems of the local government, and often appoints
people to work there.

Some people think this is a good system, because the country is

run using the same (uniform) system.
But others think a central government wouldn’t understand the
needs of all the people, particularly if the country has different
ethnic groups and religions.
They think that different states should have a high-level of
autonomy (self-rule).

Some modern states have a federal system.

Then the power in the country is shared between the states and
the central government.
The states have a high level of autonomy.
The state organisations organize their own systems, and regional
elections decide who works in the governments.

Different federations:

Get students to work in pairs to make a table showing the characteristics of unitary and
federal states.
Discuss their answers

Answers:
Unitary Federal
Power held by central government Power is divided between central and
regional governments
Central government decides how much States decides how much power the
decentralization there is central government should have
Central government designs and controls States decide how they will be governed
regional government
Central government appoints regional States appoint their own government and
heads leaders
Central government gives power to the The states give power to the central
regions government

37
Explain:

A federal system can develop in two different ways. Firstly, as

mentioned above, the independent states can join together and
give power to the central government. This is called federalization.
Secondly,
24. a unitary
Federalism government can change to a federal
and Burma

Discuss: What type of system does Burma have now? What system do you think Burma
should have? Why? What difficulties could Burma face in developing a federal system?

Read ‘Federalism and Burma’.

Answer these questions:

1. What do ethic minority groups want included in federalism?

2. What does the junta say federalism will lead to?
3. What kind of federation do the ethnic minorities want?
4. What does are the two ways a federal system can be
formed?
5. What is a difficult task for the Burmese federalists?
6. What are the three draft constitutions?

Answers:
1. Self-determination and the right to secession.
2. Disintegration of the country.
3. Ethnic minorities want a federation where the federal government is a
partner (equal) to the state governments.
4. The first way is when a number of independent states agree to live and
work together under one flag. The second way is when the government
of an existing unitary state gives some power to member state
governments.
5. Demarcation is a difficult task for the Burmese federalists.
6. NCUB (1989), sham National Convention, NLD

In small groups discuss: How do you think a federal system in Burma should be organized?
How should demarcation of the country be organized? How should power be shared?
Get the groups to present and discuss their ideas.

38
25. Democratic transition

Ask: How many countries are there in the world? How many countries in the world do you
think have democracy? Do you think the number of countries with democracy are
increasing or decreasing?

Answers: There are about 180-200 countries, and about 60 democracies. The
number of democratic countries is increasing.

Explain:

Between 1820s and 1926, many countries changed to democracy.

By 1926 there were 29 democracies.
Then many countries reversed (changed from democracy to
another form of government). By 1942 the number of democracies
had reduced to 12.
After the Second World War, until 1962, the number of
democracies increased again, to 36.
But between 1960 and 1975 there was another reversal, and the
number reduced to 30.
Now there is another increase, and today there are about 60
Discussion:
Why do you think many countries change to democracy? Why do
countries lose democracy?
How does a country change to a democracy? What happens?
(Encourage students to think of many ideas)
Read ‘Democratic transitions’ and answer the questions below.
Discuss the students ideas.

Possible answers:
Why might a country lose its democracy? Early democracies are weak and
people may not trust or understand it. The country may face economic
problems. A lack of citizen participation or transparency would make it easy
for the government to return to authoritarian law. There could be other
conflicts in the country. It would be easy for a leader to seize too much power
before the institutions of democracy are in place.

What problems might a new democracy face? Economic problems, corruption,

conflict, rising crime, how to deal with the old leaders, rebuilding the
infrastructure and civil society, educating the people on democracy, leaders
accepting accountability, ensuring elections are free and fair…

39
Basic types of democratic transition

Read ‘Basic types of democratic transition’. Answer the questions below.

Answers:
1. Compromise
2. Overthrow
3. Reform

Divide the class into small groups. Ask them to draw the three types of transition on
butcher paper.
Get the groups to present their drawings.

40
26. Traditional justice – responding to past violations of human rights

Explain:
Many countries, that have previously been ruled by dictatorships,
have made transitions to democracy. When this happens the old
regime loses its power.
One question the countries have to address is how the new
government should deal with the leaders / members of the old
regime.

Some people claim that the old leaders should be prosecuted and
punished. But, others argue that it is better to forgive and forget,
and move on.

In small groups think of reasons to support these two views:

1. Old leaders of a regime should be prosecuted and punished

for their crimes

Try to think of at least 5 good reasons for each.

As a class discuss the student’s ideas for each point of view. Which point of view do the
students’ support? Why?

*Note – For prosecute and punish, many groups just listed various human rights
abuses. Encourage them to think deeper than this and list reasons why old leaders
should be punished for committing these abuses (why is it necessary to do this?).

Read ‘Transitional justice – responding to past violations of human rights’.

Reasons from the reading, in simpler English:

Prosecute and punish:

1. The new government has a moral duty to punish crimes

against humanity.
2. Prosecution is owed to the victims and their families.
3. To show the government, police and military are not above
the law.
4. To show future human rights abuses will not be accepted.
5. To show that the new democracy is strong and can be
successful.
6. To show people the values of democracy, and to get people
to trust and believe in them.

41
 Forgive and forget:

1. Democracy must be based on reconciliation, with the main

groups forgetting past differences.
2. Change to democracy includes an understanding that there
will be no revenge for past crimes.
3. Often both the government and opposition groups have
violated human rights.
4. The crimes of the authoritarian regime were justified at the
time to control the country, and were supported by a lot of the
public at that time.
5. We are all responsible for the creation of a dictatorship,
many people and groups share the guilt of the government.
6. Amnesty is necessary as a base for a new democracy. The

*Note – Most previous regimes from third wave democracies were not punished. The politics
in the countries often prevented prosecution of authoritarian criminals. In some countries,
small punishments have been given to some.
Even after WWII and the holocaust most Nazi leaders were not prosecuted.

Read ‘Designing policies to deal with past human rights violations’ and answer the
questions below.
Discuss the students’ answers.

Strategies of transitional justice

Recap:

We looked at how people thought the leaders and members of old

regimes should be dealt with, following a change of government.
Should they be prosecuted and punished for human rights abuses
they committed, or should the country forgive and forget.
There is not an easy solution, democracy encourages
forgiving and forgetting, but after years of suffering the population
Explain: Here are several policies that a country can adopt to deal with their past, during a
transition to democracy.

1. Amnesty - means forgiveness.

Granting amnesty means forgiving past leaders.
Sometimes the old government might negotiate amnesty for
itself with the new government before giving up power
(compromise)
Or the old government might grant itself ‘self-amnesty’
(reform)
In many cases amnesty will also be given to opposition
forces who have also committed human rights violations.
42
2. Truth commissions - These are committees with the role
 3. Lustration - This means removing people who worked for
the government from their jobs, if their behaviour under that
government was corrupt or bad.
This could include teachers, civil servants and members of
the military.

4. Criminal prosecution - This is the opposite to amnesty.

Leaders and members of a regime who committed human
rights abuses can be prosecuted.
This can be done through national or international courts.

5. Compensation - This could be in the form of money or

support to help people rebuild their lives.

Read ‘Strategies of transitional justice’ and answer the questions below.

Discuss the students ideas for these questions.

43
27. Consolidating a new democratic government

Explain:

In the past, most wars happened between different countries.

Countries would invade and try to control them.
Today it is different. Most wars happen within countries. These are
called intra-state conflicts or civil wars.
These wars may happen because groups of people do not agree
with the government of their country, because of religious or
ethnic conflicts, or because of separatist movements.
Often identity is an important factor in the causes of intra-state

As a class, brainstorm on the board: What is ‘identity’? What does identity mean? How do
we see our own identity? What characteristics determine people’s identity?

Ask students – What is most important to your own identity? What behaviour or
actions by other people threaten your identity? What actions from governments threaten your
identity?

Explain:
Identity is very important to us. It tells us and other people who
we are. It gives us a sense of belonging – we can belong to a
family, community, ethnic group, country.

Often identity can cause divisions between groups of people.

Often people don’t like difference and don’t want to associate
with different groups of people. Or they want to change other
people to be the same as them, or to control them.

Actions that threaten people’s identity can cause a lot of

reactions. It can develop hatred, anger and misunderstanding
between groups. If these problems are not resolved they will
continue to grow.

In the world today, conflicts related to identity (ethnicity, religion,

culture) are becoming the biggest threat to world peace.

Not only have the type of wars being fought changed, the people
who suffer from the wars has also changed:
In the past the number of civilians (innocent people) harmed by
Discuss:
How could conflicts be resolved without resorting to war?

44
 Discussion, negotiation, compromise etc.
Why doesn’t this happen in many countries?
Governments don’t care, don’t want to change, opposition groups
are not allowed to speak out etc.

Explain:

One advantage of democracy is that people have freedom of

speech. Also governments have a duty to listen to and act on
behalf of the people. Governments also have to respect the rights
and identities of all the people in the population, of all races and
cultures.

Conflicts and problems do arise in democracy – but people are

allowed to speak out to express their problems and opinions, and

Explain:

After transition has taken place and a new democracy has been set
up, the government and people need to work to make sure the
democracy is successful.
At first a new democracy will be weak. It takes time to develop the
trust of the people, and to set up systems and laws that are right
for the country.

One of the most important things for a new government is to be

transparent.
This means the people must be able to see and understand what
the government is doing.
The government cannot be secretive. The media must be free to
report.
The government must also be open to criticism from the people
and the media.
This can often be hard for new democracies, as in many
governments and cultures criticism of leaders is not acceptable.

The government must also be accountable. This means the

government must follow the laws of the country, the same as the
people.

Give students time to read ‘Consolidating a new democratic government’.

Discuss: What responsibilities do the citizens of a country have in ensuring the success of a
new democracy?

45