DUSHANBE, June 19, 2013, Asia-Plus Mounting domestic pressure for democratic change in Eurasia was met with increasingly repressive policies by the region’s autocratic governments in 2012, according to the newly released edition of
Nations in Transit
, Freedom House’s annual analysis of democratic development from Central Europe to Central Asia.
Nations in Transit 2013
is Freedom House’s comprehensive, comparative study of democratic development in 29 countries from Central Europe to Eurasia. This edition covers the period from January 1 through December 31, 2012 and measures progress according to the following indicators: electoral process, civil society, independent media, national democratic governance, local democratic governance, judicial framework and independence, and corruption.
In 2012, autocratic regimes in Eurasia reportedly fought energetically to keep the threat of democratic change at bay. In some cases, governments with established records of repression introduced new and arguably redundant measures to further constrain dissent, having already engaged in years of censorship, subjugated the justice system, and in some contexts resorted to violence. As a result, governance institutions in the region’s autocracies grew more dysfunctional, less independent, and more prone to corruption.
The report says five of the 12 countries in the Eurasia region suffered score declines on
Nations in Transit’s
civil society indicator, including Azerbaijan, Tajikistan, and Belarus, which stepped up their persecution of perceived enemies through legal and extralegal means.
Tajikistan’s average scores are 6.25. The ratings are based on a scale of 1 to 7, with 1 representing the highest level of democratic progress and 7 the lowest. The Democracy Score is an average of ratings for the categories tracked in a given year.
According to the report, Tajikistan’s rating for civil society worsens because of long-term undiminished persecutions against independent religious leaders and Islamic groups.
The country’s rating for independent media has also worsened.
Founded in October 1941, Freedom House is a U.S.-based non-governmental organization (NGO) that conducts research and advocacy on democracy, political freedom, and human rights. It describes itself as a “clear voice for democracy and freedom around the world.” The organization”s annual Freedom in the World report, which assesses each country”s degree of political freedoms and civil liberties, is frequently cited by political scientists, journalists, and policy-makers. Freedom of the Press and Freedom of the Net, which monitor censorship, intimidation and violence against journalists, and public access to information, are among its other signature reports.
Headquartered in Washington, D.C., Freedom House has field offices in about a dozen countries, including Ukraine, Hungary, Serbia, Jordan, Mexico, and also countries in Central Asia.
