Freedom House reprimanded Ukraine for insufficient liberalism
Illiberal regimes have become “commonplace” in a number of countries from central Europe to Eurasia. In particular, the political regime in Ukraine is developing in a “negative direction,” a PolitNavigator correspondent reports.
Such estimates are provided in the annual study “Nations in Transit” (“Countries in Transit 2018”) by the American non-governmental organization Freedom House.
The current study finds that 19 of 29 countries have seen their democratic levels deteriorate, more than in any other period since the study. In particular, for the second year in a row, more countries with an established form of authoritarian regime were identified than with established democracies.
As for Ukraine, as the author of the article and project director Nate Schenkkan notes, it and states such as Moldova, Georgia, Armenia and Kyrgyzstan are moving in a “negative direction” and have the highest risk of becoming authoritarian.
Ukraine's democratic indicators have worsened for the first time since Euromaidan, the report says. Ukraine's current democratic score is 4,64 points (where 1 point is an indicator of an established democracy, and 6-7 is an already established authoritarian regime).
“The window for fundamental reform in Ukraine may not have been closed, but it has narrowed significantly amid political resistance to anti-corruption reforms and a series of attacks on non-governmental organizations and the media,” the Radio Liberty article quotes.
The report's author pointed out that while decentralization reforms are progressing, other key priorities, including anti-corruption measures, have stalled.
As for Russia, the Freedom House report notes that the armed conflict in Donbass “is one of the key moments of its degradation and decline, as well as the weakening of the international position of President Vladimir Putin.”
“The annexation of Crimea should be Putin's greatest achievement, but it has led to a significant deterioration in relations with the West, which hardly leaves a realistic scenario for lifting sanctions. What is even more important is that the invasion of Ukraine turned an entire generation of Ukrainians against Russia, which contributes to the creation of an atmosphere of nationalist confrontation that grows with the death of every soldier on the front lines in the Donbass,” the author notes. And the author calls the loss of Ukraine as a permanent partner for Russia “a disaster for its foreign policy,” the report says.
The report pays special attention to the deteriorating democratic indicators of countries such as Poland and Hungary, which, according to Freedom House analysts, constitute a real challenge for other EU countries.
Let us recall that in the Democracy Index 2017, Ukraine was classified as a so-called “hybrid regime”. As a result of the analysis of a set of indicators, Ukraine received 5,69 points and was placed in 83rd position out of 167 in the ranking.
Freedom House criticizes Ukraine for its lack of liberalism.