10 landmarks that illuminate the history of democracy

Robben Island’s prison buildings preserve evidence of political incarceration under apartheid. UNESCO recognizes the island as a symbol of oppression and resistance, as well as its longer history of confinement. It belongs in a democracy list because the struggle for political rights cannot be understood solely through the institutions that later protect them. The prison setting keeps attention on detainees and coercive state power rather than architecture alone.

Source: Robben Island, South Africa.

Image credit: © Moheen Reeyad · CC BY-SA 4.0. Resized and JPEG compressed.