Note 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
How did the United States achieve consent of the governed? How did individual states ratify the Constitution? What constituted consent of the governed at the founding and what constitutes it today?
Question
What other ways have countries adopted Constitutions or constitutional arrangements to achieve consent of the governed?
Question
Did the 2016 and 2020 presidential elections in the United States reaffirm the consent of the governed? Is there consent of the governed when the sole national office is won by a national minority of voters?
Question
Abraham Lincoln asserted that a minority seeking to undermine a democratically established government in order to achieve anti-democratic ends could not be tolerated, and that the Union had to be preserved. Can a minority assert the right to withdraw its consent to be governed? Under which conditions? What conditions does John Locke provide for legitimate rebellion and which does he not recognize?
Question
What is the overall trend for consent of the governed since World War II? What is the recent trend? Are there more democracies than autocracies today? How has authoritarianism strengthened? Do more people live under authoritarianism than democracy? What countries have moved towards authoritarianism? What countries have moved toward democracy? Among democracies, what is the trend?
Question
How do nationalism and chauvinism weaken political parties’ commitments to the essential principles and conditions of consent of the governed? Which countries are cited as examples of this trend? Are there more? Which countries have resisted such a trend?
Question
Meeting the essential conditions for self-governance and consent of the governed is a constant test in democracies. Where have there been recent challenges to basic conditions and principles of consent of the governed? What have been the different responses? Is democracy facing a test in the United States?
Activities and Study Topics
Activity
The opening words of the Declaration of Independence is cited as a maxim for supporters for democracy, but it did not always have the same resonance. Assign Jamelle Bouie’s article in Resources “The United States Had More Than One Founding and More Than One Set of Founders.” Have students discuss or write an essay on how the Declaration of Independence evolved that its preamble became a precept for self-governance. (For an essay, encourage students to explore the links in Bouie’s essay as sources.)
Activity
There are a number of issues that make consent of the governed a difficult concept to define precisely. Discuss with the class how to define consent of the governed. Who has constituted "the people" granting consent over time? How did different countries establish consent? Can consent of the governed be achieved through representative institutions or is the "direct democracy" of popular referendums required? Is a constitution legitimate if it is adopted (by either means) under an electoral system with limited suffrage? If so, where has that occurred? Does consent of the governed mean a single act of approval or is it a continuous process?
Activity
Answer the questions above by examining the examples used in the Country Studies section: Do South Africa, Bolivia, and Iran have consent of the governed? If so, how was it achieved? Does the manner in which consent of the governed was achieved signal potential political instability or did it create a stable constitutional system? From this analysis, ask students to write an essay: Is there a preferred means of establishing the consent of the governed?
Activity
Examine how Consent of the Governed was achieved (and how it evolved) in the United States. Was the U.S. a full democracy at its founding?
Activity
The 2016 elections in the United States raised many questions as to the legitimacy of the Electoral College system in selecting US presidents. Have students research the creation and intent of the Electoral College in the Constitution (e.g., by assigning Federalist Papers 39 and 68 and/or reviewing the interview with Alexander Keysar in Resources). Look at attempts to amend the Electoral College System (e.g., the National Popular Vote Interstate Compact). Assign an essay or organize a student discussion/debate: "Should the Electoral College Be Abolished: Yes or No?"
Activity
In August 2023, the Department of Justice indicted Donald J. Trump for attempting to “overturn the results [of the 2020 presidential election] and maintain power.” How did the actions of the former president while still in office challenge the essential principles of self-governance? Examine the issue in relation to principles elaborated in Essential Principles using concepts of Donald Ziblat’s and Steven Levitsky’s How Democracies Die. Assign an essay or have class discussion regarding Ziblat’s and Levitsky’s principles and how they relate to the 2020 and upcoming 2024 presidential elections.
South Africa
Study Questions
Question
Why does Freedom House rank South Africa as a Free Country?
Question
What aspects of governance, politics, and the economy in South Africa make it free? What issues threaten South Africa’s freedom?
Question
The same party has governed the country since the abolition of apartheid. Is it in danger of becoming an undemocratic, one-party state? Or is it more likely to continue as a democracy?
Activities and Study Topics
Activity
After his death on December 5, 2013, Nelson Mandela was hailed as one of the great political leaders of the 20th century. Read the coverage in The New York Times and The Economist and other accounts of Mandela’s life (e.g., Playing the Enemy by John Carlin). What qualities have been cited as making Mandela a great leader? Compare Mandela with similar leaders of freedom movements (Mahatma Gandhi and Martin Luther King, e.g.). How were they similar? How were they different? How were these qualities expressed in his “Address to the People of Cape Town on the Occasion of His Inauguration” in 1994?
Activity
The current economic situation in South Africa has led to a re-assessment by youth of Nelson Mandela’s legacy. See the New York Times article in Resources. What has led to the re-assessment? In hindsight, is it fair to judge Mandela by today’s economic conditions? Does it detract from the considerations above?
Activity
Archbishop Desmond Tutu was also a pillar of resistance to South Africa apartheid and a symbol of the post-apartheid democratic changes as the head of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission. His death on December 26, 2021 marked the end of an era. Read the obituaries in The Economist and The New York Times. Describe what was similar and what was different in Tutu’s and Mandela’s approaches to resistance to apartheid and to building a post-apartheid South African democracy? What was the lasting impact of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission?
Activity
Compare the Country Studies and Freedom House Country Reports of South Africa, Bolivia, and Iran. Why does Freedom House designate the three countries Free, Partly Free and Not Free? What does Freedom House use as criteria for measuring the countries’ level of freedom? After answering the questions, review Freedom House's description of its methodology to test whether you identified the same criteria. Discuss your findings in class.
Activity
Have students read recent news articles on South Africa’s 2024 elections and the formation of the new government. Discuss in class or assign an essay on the question: How did the 2024 elections alter South African politics? What changes may be made as a result?
Bolivia
Study Questions
Question
When did Bolivia have consent of the governed in its history according to its essential principles?
Question
What led to the election of Evo Morales in 2005? With its 2009 Constitution, has Bolivia achieved consent of the governed more fully?
Question
What in Bolivia’s recent history―especially Evo Morales’s attempted fourth term in office and the 2019 presidential election―put into question the country’s consent of the governed?
Question
Has consent of the governed been restored with the 2020 elections?
Activities and Study Topics
Activity
Assign a brief essay or organize a class discussion to answer the question: Has the adoption of a new constitution in 2009 in Bolivia guaranteed “consent of the governed” and fulfillment of democratic rights in Bolivia? Given the style of rule of Evo Morales, did the constitution protect consent of the governed? Why or why not? Use Essential Principles, the Bolivia Country Study, and Freedom House’s 2022 Bolivia report to defend your conclusion.
Activity
Compare periods of democracy and dictatorship in Bolivia and Iran. Why was Bolivia able to establish more lasting periods of democracy? What factors contributed to the shorter period of democratic rule in Iran? What factors allow for greater democracy in Bolivia today?
Iran
Study Questions
Question
Although the Islamic Republic of Iran’s Constitution was adopted overwhelmingly in a plebiscite in April 1979, it is not considered to allow “consent of the governed.” Why?
Question
How did Iranian reformers use elections as a strategy to promote democratic change? Why didn't they succeed? Is the long period of theocratic dictatorship a sign of popular support? Or does this indicate more the repressive character of the regime?
Question
Can you identify dictatorships that lasted decades but that later ended due to popular dissatisfaction and revolt? Can this happen in Iran? What are recent instances of nationwide protests? What does this indicate about support for theocracy (see also Activity below)?
Activities and Study Topics
Activity
Contrast the description of the constitutions and processes for approving the constitutions in Bolivia and South Africa following the overthrow of dictatorships. What makes the Iranian constitution less democratic? What makes it a “Not Free” country? What provides greater protection for the consent of the governed in Bolivia and South Africa?
Activity
Examine the question of whether it is possible to achieve democracy from within Iranian society after the reassertion of control by clerical leaders and hard-liners following the “reform movement” and the suppression of the 2009 “Green Revolution.” Have students look at recent newspaper articles from Iran. Do the protests over the killing of Mahsa Amini for the crime of wrongly wearing the hijab signal political change? What are the basic preconditions for a transition to democracy in Iran? Examine cases of democratic transitions from authoritarian rule in other countries (e.g., South Africa and Bolivia) to identify methods for achieving democratic change. Write an essay on the topic and/or present your findings with the class.
The content on this page was last updated on .