Notes for Teachers
The following are suggested questions and activities that can be given to your students after they read the materials of each section. The questions are meant to be asked as a review exercise, but also as critical thinking exercises. The activities, which may require additional research, can be presented as classroom exercises or as individual assignments for essays or class presentations (see also Resources for suggested research materials). Some activities call for students to have debates that would engage the entire class but all of the questions and activities can be used in this way. These are only suggested questions and activities. Teachers should rewrite or develop their own as they feel necessary.
Essential Principles and History
Study Questions
Question
What are precedents in history cited in the Essential Principles section for accountability in government and non-governmental institutions.
Question
What are specific ways listed that the Constitution embed accountability and transparency in founding documents? What others are there?
Question
Why are sunshine, ethics, whistleblower and anticorruption laws necessary? When were they generally established in most democracies?
Question
Can democracy survive today without accountability and transparency laws? Why or Why not?
Question
What recent challenges to accountability and transparency have there been in the United States? In other democracies? What consequences has the Citizens United decision of the Supreme Court had in the United States? Why was the Trump presidency unprecedented?
Activities and Study Topics
Activity
Accountability and transparency involve nearly all aspects of democratic governance. List the characteristics of accountability and transparency mentioned in the Essential Principles and History sections and in some of the country studies. Identify the institutions and issues in the United States that are most affected by the adherence to and lack of adherence to accountability and transparency mechanisms? Have students discuss the reasons why they chose each?
Activity
Discuss the characteristics of accountability and transparency in the United States in light of the 2016 and 2020 presidential election campaigns. What issues have been raised regarding accountability and American elections since the 2010 Citizens United decision? Since the 2016 election? Since the 2020 election?
Activity
Identify instances in the History section where corruption has existed in an electoral democracy. Find other instances using additional sources. What were the consequences of the corruption? What aspects of democracy were necessary to challenge public corruption?
Activity
Discuss the recent unprecedented nature of the Trump presidency and post-presidency. What makes it unprecedented in US history? Have US accountability and transparency mechanisms worked to hold Trump or officials in his administration accountable? Why or why not? What were the consequences for US democracy generally and for the principle of accountability and transparency of the pardon of Richard Nixon? Of the Senate acquittals in Donald Trump’s two impeachments?
Activity
Relatedly, have students to review several of the Resources on the topic, such as the article by Michael Luttig and Lawrence Tribe. Hold class discussion or assign an essay on the question, “Should Donald Trump Be Allowed to Run for the Presidency Again, Yes or No.”
Botswana
Study Questions
Question
What is the one party that has won all elections since Botswana’s independence? What role did it play in achieving independence? Botswana is considered one of Africa’s most established and successful democracies. What makes it different from dictatorial countries ruled by a single party? Is there political opposition? Is it effective?
Question
What role did consensual politics, as practiced by Setswana tribes, have in developing Botswana’s democracy?
Question
What are Botswana’s accountability and transparency mechanisms? What role does the State Auditor play?
Question
Compared to neighboring South Africa, how does Botswana score on the different measures of democratic accountability in Freedom House’s most recent Survey of Freedom Country Report?
Activities and Study Topics
Activity
For class discussion or assignment of a brief essay: Examine the most recent annual survey by Freedom House and that of Transparency International (TI). Why is Botswana ranked Free by Freedom House and considered the least corrupt country in Africa by TI? Are there factors you would consider that are not included in the Transparency International and Freedom House reports? What current issues relate to accountability and transparency as described in the Essential Principles section? Are democratic practices improving or worsening in Botswana?
Philippines
Study Questions
Question
What was the People Power democracy movement? Why did the people rebel against the government in 1986? What role did corruption play?
Question
What mechanisms of accountability and transparency were adopted in the 1987 Constitution? Have they been effective in preventing corruption and maintaining democracy?
Question
What role has corruption played generally in the Philippines since independence? How did it affect the adoption of dictatorship and democracy at different periods of its post-independence history? What was the most important factor in opposing government corruption?
Question
Today, the Philippines appears to be losing its mechanisms for accountability and transparency. What factors have affected the country’s democratic system? What have the last two presidents done to weaken accountability and transparency? What are the mechanisms that still exist to expose corruption and abuse of power?
Activities and Study Topics
Activity
The Philippines is an electoral democracy that Freedom House downgraded in rank to “partly free” in 2006. Identify the reasons for the different rankings by Freedom House in current reports. What role did corruption and lack of accountability and transparency play in the downgrade.
Activity
The 1986 People Power movement brought about the downfall of the Ferdinand Marcos dictatorship. What role did the United States play then? Today, the Philippines appears to be losing the legacy of the 1986 Revolution. Discuss what role can the United States play in preventing the weakening of democracy in the Philippines? Will recent security agreements with the Philippines help or hinder that role?
Kazakhstan
Study Questions
Question
For the much of the post-Soviet period, Kazakhstan has been dominated by one man, Nursultan Nazarbayev. How did Nazarbayev consolidate his power after Kazakhstan declared independence in 1991? What instruments of power has he used?
Question
When Nazarbayev resigned, a new president Qasym-Jomart Toqaev took over the office of the presidency. What has Toqaev done to consolidate his power? Has he made Kazakhstan more democratic or less? Or is it the same?
Question
What role do civic organizations play in addressing corruption and transparency?
Activities and Study Topics
Activity
Examine the transfer of power from Nazarbayev to Toqaev. Compare to other countries in this section? What are the differences between Kazakhstan on the one hand and Botswana and Philippines (for example at the times of independence and at times of protest).
Activity
From the Country Study and other sources (such as Freedom House and Human Rights Watch), identify instances in the last decade where civil society has challenged the authoritarian control of Presidents Nazarbayev and Toqaev? Was there opposition to Nazarbayev’s rule? To Toqaev’s? Given the total control over the government, what issues would you use to organize opposition?
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