[Citizen College Season 3] Democratic Civil Education in Europe after World War II

On October 25, 2019, the fifth lecture of the Citizen College Season 3 “Citizens and the World: Peace on the Korean Peninsula and International Politics” was given at Korea University’s Political Science & Economics Bldg. 506, jointly conducted by the Seongbuk-gu Office and the Korea University Institute for Peace and Democracy. The fifth lecture was given by I. Alexandrova , a professor at the Institute for Peace and Democracy at Korea University.

Titled “Democratic Civil Education in Europe After World War II,” it was time to look at the cases of civil education in Germany and France among European countries and talk about what civil education means in a democratic society. Civil education is a process that guides citizens to have the right citizenship as members of society, and it is an educational process that helps them to effectively participate in political and social systems and carry out their roles and responsibilities. Civil education is being provided in a democratic society with the aim of establishing a foundation for democracy and rule of law.

The first aim of German civil education is to overcome Hitler’s Nazism and rule out the possibility of a totalitarian reconstruction. To this end, they have organized and operated ‘politics’ as a required subject based on reflection on the Nazis. Second, building a free democracy. German civil education is focused on strengthening and deepening democracy. Through citizen education, we hope to understand the rights and responsibilities of citizens in democratic countries and enhance the ability and activeness of citizens to judge themselves. In France, where tradition-driven civil education is held, citizens have been creating an environment where rational opinions can be addressed.  Also, in order to improve relations with Germany, which has long been at odds with war, they established a cultural institution that can actively interact with German citizens. The speaker stressed that it is important for a democratic country to implement civil education and for its people to participate hard, because the realization of democracy depends on its civil qualities.