Iraqis, Self-Governance,

What, then, is important to teach? One way to look at what our own kids should learn is to ask what the Iraqis need to learn if they want to permanently govern themselves. (It's certainly a question for the new Iraq Ministry of Education).

If you're an Iraqi, and you want to live in a republic and elect your own leaders for a long time to come, what should you want your neighbors to know?

What qualities must a culture have to be able to sustain peaceful democracy? Can it be done anywhere, or must certain values be in place? If a culture values, say, tribe loyalty over rule of law, will democracy work?

Stanley Kurtz takes up these questions of old cultures and new democracies (Japan, Germany, India, Iraq); and asks what role schools may play: The Job Ahead Bringing democracy to Iraq will take more than elections.