UNIVERSITY OF MILANO COMPARATIVE POLITICS 2013 Paulina Przybylska

Freedom House is a Washington-based non- governmental organisation established in 1941 to promote democracy around the globe Assesses democracy in 193 countries by examining the availability of Political rights civil liberties Uses reports, assessments by scholars & experts to rate each country on a 7 point scale: 1 is high………… is low

Support to the expansion of freedom in the world Freedom House is a catalyst for freedom, democracy, and the rule of law Supports democratic change, monitors freedom, and advocates for democracy and human rights. Aid to political science research

Freedom House measures freedom according to two broad categories: 1.Political rights - enable people to participate freely in the political process through the right to vote, compete for public office and elect representatives who have a decisive impact on public policies and are accountable to the electorate. 2. Civil liberties allow for: - the freedoms of expression and belief, - associational and organizational rights - rule of law, and personal autonomy without interference from the state

Map of Freedom in the World: focuses on … countries territories (e.g., Palestinian Authority-Administered Territories or Nagorno-Karabakh).

Since 1972 Freedom House publishes an annual report, Freedom in the World, on the degree of democratic freedoms according to civil and political rights on a scale from 1 (most free) to 7 (least free). 1.0 to 2.5 considered "free". States with values from 3.0 to 5.0 were considered "partly free" and those with values between 5.5 and 7.0 as "not free".

1. FREE: - open political competition - a climate of respect for civil liberties - significant independent civic life independent media 2. PARTLY FREE: - Limited respect for political rights and civil liberties - Enviroment of corruption - Weak rule of law - Ethnic and religious strife - Single party enjoys dominance despite a certain degree of pluralism

3. NOT FREE: - Basic political rights are absent - Basic civil liberties are widely and systematically denied

Scores for cases Freedom House scale from 1 till 7 South Africa Zimbabwe Argentina, India North Korea See: = free = partly free = not free

NOT FREE WITH THE LOWEST RATING 7: -NORTH KOREA -TURKMENISTAN -UZBEKISTAN -SUDAN -GUINEA -ERITREA -SAUDI ARABIA -SYRIA -SOMALIA -TIBET -WESTERN SAHARA SLIGHTY ABOVE 7: -BELARUS -CHAD -CHINA -CUBA -LAOS -SOUTH OSSETIA

AZERBAIJANNOT FREE 65 BULGARIA*FREE22 GERMANY*FREE11 GREECE*FREE22 HUNGARY*FREE12 ITALY*FREE1 VENEZUELAPARTLY FREE55