Freedom House records democratic success in Armenia

ArmInfo. Regional autocrats exploit instability by expanding their influence from Central Europe to Central Asia. This is stated in the Freedom House's annual  Report: "2022 Nations in Transit: From Democratic Decline to  Authoritarian Aggression". 

Thus, the Nations in Transit 2022 report notes that democracy is  rapidly giving way to authoritarianism in a region stretching from  Central Europe to Central Asia.  "This year, for the first time in  the 21st century, the prevailing form of governance in the Nations in  Transit region is the hybrid regime. Four democracies have fallen  into this gray zone since the unbroken period of democratic decline  began in 2004: Hungary, Montenegro, North Macedonia, and Serbia.  During the same period, three authoritarian regimes made democratic  strides and joined the ranks of hybrid regimes: Moldova, Kosovo, and  now Armenia," the report notes.

According to the source, Armenia received 3.04 points out of a  possible 7 in the Democracy Progress Index. Last year, this figure  was 2.96 points. In percentage terms, the level of democratic  development of the country is 34%. According to the report, Armenia  recorded progress in a number of areas, including democratic  governance, electoral processes, development of the judiciary and  independence, while worsening its position in terms of media  independence.

At the same time, it is stated that, along: "Azerbaijan, Belarus,  Russia, and the five Central Asian countries continue to sink to the  bottom of Nations in Transit's scale as longtime despots stamp out  dissent and fortify themselves against perceived foreign and domestic  enemies."

"The liberal international order wil only as strong as the  democracies that defend it, and the road to authoritarian resurgence  is paved with the political complacency of democracies. While the  unity shown by democracies in response to Putin's war of conquest in  Ukraine is truly remarkable, we must seize this moment of democratic  awakening." to counter the rise of authoritarianism, not only in  Europe and Eurasia, but throughout the world. Freedom advocates, from  governments to citizens, must use all available legal, economic, and  diplomatic tools to deter authoritarian aggression and lay the  foundations for a safer, freer, more just, and a prosperous world,"  Freedom House President Michael J. Abramowitz said.

It is noted that throughout 18 years democratic decline has been  fixed in the region. Given dramatic variations among the 29 countries  Nations in Transit reviews, discussions of civil society's democratic  health are diverse, ranging from financial viability, to authorities'  willingness to solicit guidance or resist it, to organizations'  ability to operate in the face of repression."

"For example, a country that holds regular competitive elections may  also lack checks and balances for winners, suffer from a weak rule of  law, or be unable to protect the rights and freedoms of all  residents.  Armenia has now joined this category, in total 11 hybrid  regimes in the region, up from four in 2004," the report says, adding  that only six of the 29 countries retained the status of  "consolidated democracy" compared to eight in 2004.