Freedom House: Freedom House: Introduction and Introduction and

methodologymethodologyPaul Bacon

PH201

Freedom in the WorldFreedom in the World - Survey - Survey Methodology Methodology

• The Freedom in the World survey provides an annual evaluation of the state of global freedom as experienced by individuals.

• Freedom is the opportunity to act spontaneously in a variety of fields outside the control of the government and other centers of potential domination.

• Freedom House measures freedom according to two broad categories: political rights and civil liberties.

Political Rights and Civil LibertiesPolitical Rights and Civil Liberties

• Political rights enable people to participate freely in the political process, including 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.

• 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.

Freedom House and the UDHRFreedom House and the UDHR

• Freedom House claims that it does not maintain a culture-bound view of freedom.

• The methodology of the survey establishes basic standards that are derived in large measure from the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

• These standards apply to all countries and territories, irrespective of geographical location, ethnic or religious composition, or level of economic development.

Freedom ratingsFreedom ratings• The survey includes both analytical reports and

numerical ratings for 192 countries and 18 select territories.

• Each country and territory is assigned a numerical rating, which is calculated based on the methodology described below, on a scale of 1 to 7.

• A rating of 1 indicates the highest degree of freedom and 7 the least amount of freedom.

• The survey findings are reached after a multi-layered process of analysis and evaluation by a team of regional experts and scholars.

• Although there is an element of subjectivity inherent in the survey findings, the ratings process emphasizes intellectual rigor and balanced and unbiased judgments.

The ratings processThe ratings process

• The ratings process is based on a checklist of 10 political rights questions and 15 civil liberties questions.

• Raw points are awarded to each of these questions on a scale of 0 to 4, where 0 points represents the smallest degree and 4 points the greatest degree of rights or liberties present.

• The highest number of points that can be awarded to the political rights checklist is 40 (or a total of up to 4 points for each of the 10 questions).

• The highest number of points that can be awarded to the civil liberties checklist is 60 (or a total of up to 4 points for each of the 15 questions).

Political Rights and Civil Liberties Political Rights and Civil Liberties RatingsRatings

• Political Rights and Civil Liberties Ratings • The total number of points awarded to the

political rights and civil liberties checklists determines the political rights and civil liberties ratings.

• Each point total corresponds to a rating of 1 through 7, with 1 representing the highest and 7 the lowest level of freedom.

Calculating the Political Rights (PR) Calculating the Political Rights (PR) ratingrating

Total raw scores PR Rating

36-40 1

30-35 2

24-29 3

18-23 4

12-17 5

6-11 6

0-5 7

Calculating the Civil Liberties (CL) Calculating the Civil Liberties (CL) ratingrating

Total raw scores CL Rating

53-60 1

44-52 2

35-43 3

26-34 4

17-25 5

8-16 6

0-7 7

Free/Partly Free/Not Free?Free/Partly Free/Not Free?

• Each pair of political rights and civil liberties ratings is averaged.

• This gives an overall status of ‘Free’, ‘Partly Free’, or ‘Not Free’.

• Those whose ratings average 1.0-2.5 are considered Free, 3.0-5.0 Partly Free, and 5.5-7.0 Not Free

Free/Partly Free/Not Free?Free/Partly Free/Not Free?

Average of PR and CL Ratings

Country Status

1-2.5 Free

3-5 Partly Free

5.5-7 Not Free

Political rights and civil liberties – Political rights and civil liberties – checklist of questionschecklist of questions

• The ratings process is based on a checklist of 10 political rights questions and 15 civil liberties questions.

• The 10 political rights questions are grouped into three sub-categories.

• The 15 civil liberties questions are grouped into four sub-categories.

Political rights and civil liberties – Political rights and civil liberties – checklist of questionschecklist of questions

• Political rights questions – the three sub-categories:

• A. Electoral Process

• B. Political Pluralism and Participation

• C. Functioning of Government

Political rights questionsPolitical rights questions

• A. Electoral Process 1. Is the head of state and/or head of government or other chief authority elected through free and fair elections?2. Are the legislative representatives elected through free and fair elections?3. Are there fair electoral laws, equal campaigning opportunities, fair polling, and honest tabulation of ballots?

Political rights questionsPolitical rights questions• B. Political Pluralism and Participation

1. Do the people have the right to organize in different political parties or other competitive political groupings of their choice, and is the system open to the rise and fall of these competing parties or groupings? 2. Is there a significant opposition vote, de facto opposition power, and a realistic possibility for the opposition to increase its support or gain power through elections? 3. Are the people’s political choices free from domination by the military, foreign powers, totalitarian parties, religious hierarchies, economic oligarchies, or any other powerful group? 4. Do cultural, ethnic, religious, and other minority groups have reasonable self-determination, self-government, autonomy, or participation through informal consensus in the decision-making process?

Political rights questionsPolitical rights questions

• C. Functioning of Government 1. Do freely elected representatives determine the policies of the government? 2. Is the government free from pervasive corruption? 3. Is the government accountable to the electorate between elections, and does it operate with openness and transparency?

Political rights and civil liberties – Political rights and civil liberties – checklist of questionschecklist of questions

• Civil liberties questions – the four sub-categories:

• D. Freedom of Expression and Belief.• E. Associational and Organizational

Rights.• F. Rule of Law.• G. Personal Autonomy and Individual

Rights.

Civil liberties questionsCivil liberties questions• D. Freedom of Expression and Belief

1. Are there free and independent media and other forms of cultural expression? 2. Are there free religious institutions, and is there free private and public religious expression? 3. Is there academic freedom, and is the educational system free of extensive political indoctrination? 4. Is there open and free private discussion?

Civil liberties questionsCivil liberties questions• E. Associational and Organizational Rights

1. Is there freedom of assembly, demonstration, and open public discussion? 2. Is there freedom of political or quasi-political organization? (Note: this includes political parties, civic organizations, ad hoc issue groups, etc.) 3. Are there free trade unions and peasant organizations or equivalents, and is there effective collective bargaining? Are there free professional and other private organizations?

Civil liberties questionsCivil liberties questions

• F. Rule of Law 1. Is there an independent judiciary? 2. Does the rule of law prevail in civil and criminal matters? Are police under direct civilian control?3. Is there protection from police terror, unjustified imprisonment, exile, or torture, whether by groups that support or oppose the system? Is there freedom from war and insurgencies? 4. Is the population treated equally under the law?

Civil liberties questionsCivil liberties questions

• G. Personal Autonomy and Individual Rights 1. Is there personal autonomy? Does the state control travel, choice of residence, or choice of employment? Is there freedom from indoctrination and excessive dependency on the state? 2. Do citizens have the right to own property and establish private businesses? Is private business activity unduly influenced by government officials, the security forces, or organized crime? 3. Are there personal social freedoms, including gender equality, choice of marriage partners, and size of family?4. Is there equality of opportunity and the absence of economic exploitation?

Freedom in the World Freedom in the World 20032003

Paul BaconPH201

Human rights in the worldHuman rights in the world

• It is now time to examine two practical questions with regard to the issue of human rights:

• 1. Which countries respect human rights, and which do not?

• 2. How could you ‘measure’ this?

Freedom HouseFreedom House

• The NGO Freedom House is widely regarded as providing the most reliable guide to the existence or absence of human rights in the world.

• Each year, Freedom House publishes Freedom in the World.

• This global survey evaluates levels of freedom, democracy and human rights in every country in the world.

• In the survey, countries are rated as Free, Partly Free or Not Free.

Freedom in the World 2003Freedom in the World 2003

• I have chosen the 2003 Survey because this marks the 30th anniversary of the first comprehensive Freedom in the World survey, which was published in 1972.

• Because it is the thirtieth anniversary there is lots of useful comparative information spanning a thirty year period.

• Freedom in the World reports are available online, on the Freedom house website, at http://www.freedomhouse.org/

• There is lots of interesting information on this site, and I strongly, strongly, strongly recommend that you have a look at it.

2 significant developments…2 significant developments…

• Comprehensive Freedom in the World surveys began in 1972.

• This was just before the start of what has become known as the Third Wave of democratization. (We will study the third wave in some detail in later classes on this course).

• The two significant developments over the last thirty years are:

• 1. There has been a significant increase in the number of sovereign states. In 1972 there were 150, and in 2003 there were 192. Much of this growth can be explained by the collapse of the Soviet Union and the former Yugoslavia.

• 2. There has been what FH refers to as a ‘dramatic’ increase in freedom in the last thirty years.

Free Partly Free

Not Free

1972 43(29%)

38(25%)

69(46%)

2002 89(46%)

55(29%)

48(25%)

Freedom by Country

Freedom by country - dramatic Freedom by country - dramatic improvementimprovement

• In the last thirty years:• 1. The absolute number of Free states has more than

doubled, from 43 to 89.• 2. The percentage number of Not Free states has

nearly halved, from 46% to 25%.• 3. The absolute number of number of Not Free states

has declined by 21 states, despite the fact that between 1972 and 2002, 42 new states came into existence.

• 4. There has been an increase in both the average Political Rights rating and the average Civil Liberties rating.

Average Political Rights rating

Average Civil Liberties rating

2002 3.4 3.4

1972 4.5 4.4

Rise in average PR and CL ratings

Freedom by world population – more Freedom by world population – more modest improvementmodest improvement

• Freedom gains for the world’s population have not been as dramatic as the country gains.

• But they have still been substantial.• 1. The number of Free people has increased from 1

in 3 to nearly 1 in 2 in the last thirty years.• 2. The number of Not Free people has declined in

percentage terms from nearly 1 in 2 to just over 1 in 3 in the last thirty years.

• 3. However, the total number of Not Free people has still increased by 0.4 billion in the last 30 years

Free Partly Free

Not Free

Total

1973 1.324 billion(35%)

.666 billion(18%)

1.787 billion(47%)

3.779 billion

2003 2.717 billion(44%)

1.293 billion(21%)

2.186 billion(35%)

6.179 billion

Freedom and the world population

A caveat about the population figuresA caveat about the population figures• It is important to note that these figures are skewed by the

population sizes of very large states in the international system. • For example, in 2003 China accounted for some 1.27 billion of

the 2.15 billion Not Free people in the world. This means that roughly 60% of the Not Free people in the world are Chinese.

• If China’s rating were to change, this would have a dramatic impact on the ratings. It would result in a 20% swing. This is also true of India. If India’s overall freedom rating were to change, then this would result in a swing of 17%.

• If China were to become Partly Free, this would leave ‘only’15% of the world’s population as Not Free. However, if India were to become Partly Free, a change from its current rating of Free, this would leave 28% of the world’s population as Free.

Freedom by region - unevenFreedom by region - uneven• So far we have looked at gains in freedom from

the perspective of countries, and in terms of the world population as a whole.

• But it is very important to note that the dramatic gains in freedom in the last thirty years have not been shared equally around the world’s regions.

• According to the 2003 survey: • 1. There have been dramatic freedom gains in:

– the Americas;– the Asia-Pacific;– Central and eastern Europe.

The Americas Free Partly Free Not Free

1972 13 9 4

2002 23 10 2

Asia-Pacific Free Partly Free Not Free

1972 8 13 11

2002 18 10 11

Western Europe

Free Partly Free Not Free

1972 18 4 3

2002 24 1 0

Freedom by region

Freedom by region - unevenFreedom by region - uneven

• According to the 2003 survey: • 2. There has been modest progress

in Africa.• 3. There has been stagnation or

even resistance to democracy in:–the Middle East and North Africa–countries of the former Soviet

Union.

Freedom by regionSub-Saharan Africa

Free Partly Free Not Free

1972 2 9 28

2002 11 21 16

Middle East/N. Africa

Free Partly Free Not Free

1972 2 3 14

2002 1 4 13

CEE-FSU* Free Partly Free Not Free

1972 0 0 9

2002 12 9 6

*Central and Eastern Europe and the former Soviet Union

The ‘worst of the worst’ The ‘worst of the worst’

• The worst possible rating that a country can receive is a score of 7.

• To achieve this, a country would have to receive both a Political Rights rating of 7, and a Civil Liberties rating of 7.

• In the 2003 survey nine countries received this overall freedom rating of 7, and therefore, in terms of freedom, could be described as the ‘worst of the worst’.

• These nine countries were: Burma, Cuba, Iraq, North Korea, Libya, Saudi Arabia, Sudan, Syria and Turkmenistan.

The ‘worst of the worst’The ‘worst of the worst’

• It is interesting to note that of these nine countries, six have majority Muslim populations.

• Furthermore, of the 48 countries in the 2003 survey that were rated as Not Free, 25 had majority Muslim populations.

• It is sometimes suggested that certain cultures or civilizations are not compatible with liberal democracy.

• As we will see when we look at Huntington’s book The Third Wave in more detail, it is suggested in particular that Islamic and Confucian culture may not be compatible with liberal democracy.

Electoral democracyElectoral democracy

• To qualify as a genuine electoral democracy, a state must have the following:

• 1. A competitive multi-party system.• 2. Universal adult suffrage.• 3. Regular elections with: ballot secrecy, reasonable

ballot security, and an absence of massive voter fraud.

• 4. Candidates must have access to the media, and the possibility of open political campaigning.

• 5. The electorate can vote without undue pressure.• 6. Candidates can campaign free from intimidation.

An increase in the number of electoral An increase in the number of electoral democraciesdemocracies

• In recent years the concept of electoral democracy has become increasingly important.– In 1988, 66/167 countries were electoral

democracies (40%)– In 1993, 99/186 countries were electoral

democracies (53%)– In 2002, 121/192 countries were electoral

democracies (63%).

A note on electoral democraciesA note on electoral democracies

• It can hopefully be seen that these criteria are reasonably substantial.

• It is not possible for a country to be an electoral democracy simply because it holds elections.

• Elections must meet the criteria which are described above.

• This would mean, for example, that although Russia, China and Iraq have all held elections in recent years, they do not automatically qualify as electoral democracies.

The distinction between electoral and liberal The distinction between electoral and liberal democracydemocracy

• Liberal democracies possess the attributes which are required in order to qualify as electoral democracies.

• But they also possess a substantial range of civil liberties. So, all liberal democracies are also electoral democracies.

• But not all electoral democracies are liberal democracies.

• Some countries do provide political rights, but they do not provide a full range of civil liberties.

The distinction between electoral and liberal The distinction between electoral and liberal democracydemocracy

• To relate this more explicitly to the Freedom House survey:

• 1. All Free countries are liberal democracies and electoral democracies.

• 2. Partly Free countries do not qualify as liberal democracies.

• 3. However, some Partly Free countries are electoral democracies.

The distinction between electoral and liberal The distinction between electoral and liberal democracydemocracy

• There are 89 Free countries in the 2003 survey, but there are also 121 electoral democracies.

• This means that, according to the 2003 survey, there are 32 countries which are electoral democracies, but which are not Free.

• They are also not, therefore, liberal democracies.