Democratic IDEAs

Some SIS Theory of Knowledge students followed in the footsteps of our ModelUN group, by visiting the International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance. The visit was made possible thanks to SIS parent Seema Shah, who is Head of Democracy Assessment at the Institute.

During the visit, the students were taken through the concept of democracy and the values and features of a healthy democratic society. They got to explore varied aspects of how the Institute's researchers collect data, the methodologies they use, and the analytical measures they apply to evaluate how countries are performing.

The fascinating presentation gave our students plenty to think about. As well as the essence of democracy, it left them with some questions about bias in research and how to guard against its unconscious influence, and the value of numbers and statistics in making convincing arguments, while being careful about the interpretation of the underlying data.

Not only was this an immensely informative visit, but International IDEA has offered to help with a tutorial for future MModelUN students too.