Democracy competence
Democracy competence (also: democracy ability ) as a concept of political didactics is the required totality of knowledge and skills to perceive the role of citizens in democracy . As a living self-determination of the state people, this needs continuous realization by their members.
According to recent social science literature, the following are specifically counted as democratic competence: The ability
- to take over perspective
- to political responsibility
- of social science analysis
- of politically judgmental judgment
- conveying conflicting judgments in social disputes and finally
- the readiness for the performative realization of the individual competencies.
The readiness for performative realization includes the knowledge and acceptance of the value of the democratic idea at least in the sense of the "worst form of government with the exception of all others" ( Winston Churchill ) and the knowledge of the necessity that the continuous use of a larger, in the composition of the representative part of the citizens in good and bad times is by definition not only the basis for a living democracy, but in the longer term for democracy in itself, as well as the free, democratic and constitutional constitution of the democratic state itself.
Participation in elections and votes on topics and the filling of responsible positions in the community is only one aspect, which, however, already requires important competencies in order to be genuinely democratic, such as openness (towards alternative, possibly new political camps and concepts) Simultaneous stubbornness through non-voting or deselection e.g. B. in relation to special interests masked in a friendly manner only to the common good or anti-freedom strivings. The basis for as independent, well-founded personal judgment as possible is of course to be seen in particular in an adequate, broadest possible general education or at least life experience.
For example, it is also crucial for a free democracy that those affected by neglected interests or those who are otherwise disadvantaged bring their needs and demands to bear sufficiently and effectively in a pluralistic concert of free opinion-forming ( responsibility ). This seems z. B. in Germany today to succeed especially with environmental issues and in extreme cases company closings. For understandable reasons of social efficiency, effectiveness can only be achieved in a jointly organized manner, which requires certain socialization techniques and the associated knowledge, but also the virtue of being able to feel compassionate solidarity with others (perspective assumption ).
In addition to additional, corresponding basic communicative skills and more general social skills , similar virtues are also the prerequisite for conveying conflicting judgments in social disputes.
In general, it is also criticized in political didactics that there are currently not enough theoretically founded works on the concept and promotion of democratic competence, so that until recently it did not seem possible, e.g. In the PISA study, for example, this ability, which is so crucial for our social system, is to be examined in a similar way across countries, such as reading skills, mathematical or scientific skills. The characterization of democratic competence described above is therefore currently also in science as open z. B. viewed for extensions. It is u. a. For example, the interesting question is to what extent the described competence set on a certain level of abstraction also applies to fulfilling personal design, the individual freedom of life given by free democracy and its own basic principles of subsidiarity and pluralism .
Bibliography
- Michael May: Democracy Capability and Citizen Skills. Competency-theoretical and normative foundations of political education. VS Verlag (Wiesbaden), 2007, ISBN 978-3-531-15271-4
- Michael Marker: Competence in Democracy through Learning Action - The “School as State” project. In: Teaching and Learning. Journal for schools and innovation in Baden-Württemberg. 7/2009, Neckar-Verlag, Villingen-Schwenningen, pp. 14-19.