Related Quests
The Road to Democracy and Citizenship
- Details
- Written by Pete Admin-Account
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The European Union is a democratic organisation. All countries that form the EU have democratic governments. All citizens of Europe live in either a democratic republic or a democratic constitutional monarchy. It hasn't always been so! Living in a country in the EU today we may take democracy and citizenship for granted. But this can idea be dangerous! For many of the countries now members of the EU democracy is young. The EU was formed by the Treaty of Rome in 1958 and became a union in 1990 with the treaty of Maastricht. During this short 32 year period many of the countries of the EU have changed from being governed by dictators to democracy. Here we can name all the former Eastern block communist countries, and nationalists controlled countries such as Spain, Portugal and during certain periods Greece. Even the established democracies of western Europe such as France, the UK , Holland and Belgium gave up their non-democratic colonial governance around the world during this period. The EU has had a stabilising and democratising effect upon Europe and the world. Of course democratic change was happening throughout the world during the same period. One after one, dictatorships were toppled and colonial powers removed. "People power" or change from the bottom up was used. When freedom of speech is restricted, people often turned to cultural activities such as song, dance, theatre and literature in order to bring about change. The latest example of this can be seen in the "Arab spring", where social media played a large part in the move towards democracy. |
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This quest asks you to explore the methods people have used to make democratic change. After researching what types of revolution people have made (violent, non violent and pacifist) you will divide into groups of three or four. Each group will choose to become a member of one of a revolutionary committee. Using the recommended websites, follow the process detailing how you would publicise or make propaganda for your own revolution. Some questions to consider: What was life like for you before, during, and after the Revolution? Did you support the Revolutionary causes? What events would you participate in? Was the Revolution a success? |
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Revolution !
Use the Wikipedia page on Revolutions and Rebellions
What do the dates and places below have in common?
1642 London, England
1775 Pennsylvania, USA
1789 Paris, France
1791 Port au Prince, Haiti
1830 Brussels, Belgium
1880 Transvaal, South Africa
1916 Dublin, Ireland
1918 St. Petersburg, Russia
1949 Beijing, China
1952 Nairobi, Kenya
1956 Havana, Cuba
1959 Sharpeville, South Africa
1975 Soweto, South Africa
Civil Resitance and People Power
During the last 40 years many mostly non- violent "revolutions" have taken place all over the world. Some have led only to small changes in society but some have toppled dictators and changed regimes taking countries from dictatorships to democracies. These have been named loosely, the "colour" revolutions by the world media. Use the Wikipedia article on Colour Revolution to identify each non-violent revolution by its "colour". In groups research and present a short presentation of three "colour" event. Try to identify cultural events that may have been associated.
The Revolutions of 1989 also known as the Fall of Communism in Europe, the Collapse of Communism, the Revolutions of Central and Eastern Europe and the Autumn of Nations, were a revolutionary wave which overthrew the communist states in various Central and Eastern European countries. The events began in Poland in 1989 and continued in Hungary, East Germany, Bulgaria, Czechoslovakia and Romania. One feature common to most of these developments was the extensive use of campaigns of civil resistance demonstrating popular opposition to the continuation of one-party rule and contributing to the pressure for change. Among the famous anti-Communist revolutions was the fall of the Berlin Wall, which served as the symbolic gateway to German reunification in 1990.
Research three of the examples of civil resistance to tell what happened there
- Can you identify any common themes? What was being objected to? What was being fought for? What strategies were used?
- Try to distinguish peaceful and violent forms of protest
- What has been the lasting impact of each of these acts of rebellion?
- Do they necessarily lead to improvement?
- We tend to see democracy as a political solution to social ills. How does this idea relate to these acts of resistance
- What are the essential differences in campaigning for change in a democracy within the political systems investigated here?
- Try to find a cultural event that is associated or related with your chosen dates and places i.e. a song, a book, theatre etc
Non-violent Revolution
The Woman's suffrage movement at the beginning of the 20th century, The Indian Independence movement, the US Civil Rights movement, the Labour movement in the 1930s, The Black Sash movement in South Africa and other movements are example of civil resistance. They did not just engage in activism, they organized people, mobilized them by the millions, and galvanized participation from a broad cross section of society. Collectively, these movements provide a model for how non-violent change can be organized to win rights, justice and change in very adverse conditions.
Research more about non-violent protest and find out more about the following movements:
- The Suffragettes
- Ghandi and India Independence.
- Martin Luther King and the Civil Rights movement in the USA
- The Black Sash movement in South Africa
- Civil Rights marches in Northern Ireland in the 1960's
In your groups choose one of the above and make a presentation for your class.
What were the main issues?
Who were the main actors?
What was the outcome?
What strategies were used?
Can you find protest songs associated with the Civil Rights movements?
Advertising a revolution!
Individuals, groups, organisations produce posters, badges, songs and other marks of resistance, in order to protest against dictatorships and support resistance.
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Design a badge, postage stamp and poster to demonstrate about something you feel strongly for.
Compose a poem or rap about something you feel strongly for.
If you want to campaign for change what other non-violent strategies can you use?
Resources
Links
| List of revolutions and rebellions - Wikipedia |
| http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_revolutions_and_rebellions |
| Colour Revolution - Wikipedia |
| http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Colour_revolution |
| Campaign! Make an Impact - British Library |
| http://www.bl.uk/campaign |
| Revolutions of 1989 - Wikipeda |
| http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Revolutions_of_1989 |
| Civil Resistance - Wikipedia |
| http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Civil_resistance |
| Civil Resistance Studies |
| https://civilresistancestudies.org/ |
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