Nations in Transit

Name of Organization
Geographical Scope
Type of Initiatives:
Regional
Regions:
  • Europe and CIS
Country:
  • Uzbekistan
  • Ukraine
  • Turkmenistan
  • Turkey
  • The Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia
  • Tajikistan
  • Slovenia
  • Slovak Republic
  • Serbia
  • Russian Federation
  • Romania
  • Poland
  • Montenegro
  • Moldova
  • Malta
  • Lithuania
  • Latvia
  • Kyrgyzstan
  • Kosovo - UN Administered Territory under UNSC 1244
  • Kazakhstan
  • Hungary
  • Georgia
  • Czech Republic
  • Cyprus
  • Croatia
  • Bulgaria
  • Bosnia and Herzegovina
  • Belarus
  • Azerbaijan
  • Armenia
  • Albania
Purpose
How are democracy and the rule of law faring in Central and Eastern Europe and the former Soviet Union?
 
In Nations in Transit, leading regional specialists offer answers by reporting on more than fifty key indicators of political and social reform in twenty-seven post-Communist countries. Each country report analyzes electoral processes;
 
  1. civil society
  2. media independence
  3. local and national governance
  4. corruption
  5. constitutional, legislative, and judicial frameworks
 
The results are incisive, authoritative, and comprehensive.
 
As an added dimension, Freedom House, which for more than twenty-five years has rated global political rights and civil liberties in its benchmark "Freedom in the World surveys". It has developed a rating system that allows for comparative analysis of reforms.
 
Nations in Transit is a resource and reference tool for governmental and nongovernmental organizations, schools and universities, and anyone else interested in better understanding the structures and institutions that form the infrastructure on which transitions to open societies depend.
Area of Governance
Economic Governance
Human Rights
Media
Website of initiative
Publications
Published as Nations in Transit: Democratization in East Central Europe and Eurasia, in book form and on the website. http://freedomhouse.org/template.cfm?page=84
Cost (specify currency)
fluctuates
Funding sources
USAID
Source of Data
Initiative focusing on analysis not based on data
Type of Data Collection
Administrative Data
Panel of experts
Secondary sources
specifications of type of data collection
Other source of data: government documents
Measurement Methods / Tools Generated or Used
Nations in Transit ratings are based on a scale of 1 to 7, with 1 representing the highest level and 7 the lowest level of democratic development. The ratings follow a quarter-point scale. Minor to moderate developments typically warrant a positive or negative change of a quarter (0.25) to a half (0.50) point. Significant developments typically warrant a positive or negative change of three-quarters (0.75) to a full (1.00) point.
List of Indicators
  1. Electoral Process. Examines the free and fair nature of national executive and legislative elections; the development of multiparty systems; popular participation in the political process; openings for ethnic and other minority groups; opportunities for rotations of power among a range of political parties representing different views; and the freedom of people's choices from domination by the military, economic oligarchies, and other power groups.
  2. Civil Society. Assesses the growth of nongovernmental organizations, their organizational capacity and financial sustainability, and the legal and political environment in which they function. Also considers the development of free trade unions; interest group participation in the policy process; the freedom of educational systems from political influence and propaganda; and the freedom of society from excessive influence from extremist and intolerant nongovernmental institutions and organizations.
  3. Independent Media. Addresses legal protections for press freedom and the present state of press freedom. Also examines protections for investigative journalists; the imposition of libel laws and other penalties for 'irresponsible journalism'; harassment of journalists; editorial independence; financial viability of media outlets; and Internet access for private citizens.
  4. Local and National Governance. Considers the stability of the governmental system, as well as legislative and executive transparency; the ability of legislative bodies to fulfill their law-making and investigative responsibilities; decentralization of power; the responsibilities, election, and management of local government bodies; civil service reform; and the freedom of the civil service from excessive political interference and corruption.
  5. Constitutional, Legislative, and Judicial Framework. Highlights the constitutional framework for protecting human rights (including business and property rights); independence and impartiality in the interpretation and enforcement of the constitution; equality before the law; criminal code reform; the treatment of suspects and prisoners; the appointment and training of judges; judicial independence; and compliance with judicial decisions.
  6. Corruption. Assesses the implementation of anticorruption initiatives; the government's freedom from excessive bureaucratic regulations and other controls that increase opportunities for corruption; public perceptions of corruption; the business interests of top policy makers; laws on financial disclosure and conflict of interest; audit and investigative rules for executive and legislative bodies; protections for whistleblowers, anticorruption activists, and others who report corruption; and the media's coverage of corruption.
Main Outcomes (Products)

Main Users
Civil society
Donor agencies
International agencies
Media
Policy makers
Researchers
How to

Areas of Governance

Country Initiatives

Regional Initiatives

Global Initiatives

UNDP Support