The link between democracy and development is now well established and needless to say that this linkage is often shaped and consolidated by education. The role of education in the nexus between democracy and development is even more important in small states which have very few or no resources except for its people. So, what sort of human capital does the education system produce, what sort of values and skills are inculcated to students remain pertinent questions in this globalized era.

Whilst on the one hand, the winds of democratization sweep over the African continent and the Indian Ocean islands and on the other the vagaries of globalization hit in diverse ways, inequalities between the haves and the haves not tend to grow. Countries confront new challenges urging them to revisit the role of the education systems. Issues of relevance, access, inclusion and equity remain central to the democracy, citizenship and sustainability debate.

Democracy is not about regular elections, free vibrant press or/and independent judiciaries but rather about the quality of life of people and equitable citizenship. The latter two become even more crucial now that societies across the globe are facing new challenges such as the food crisis, climate change, global warming and rapid depletion of natural resources. These emerging crises pose new dilemmas to governance. Citizenship can easily take new significance and meanings when asymmetry in the distribution of entitlements become the norm often causing a rise in identity politics. The latter is often associated with the struggle for resources especially at a time when the nature and extent of inequality grows.

Social cohesion in small multiethnic societies where patriarchal structures still prevails is a sine qua non for security and peace as well as development and sustainability.