Report: Freedom Declined Worldwide in 2013

WASHINGTON The Washington-based group Freedom House said the cause of freedom around the globe took another hit in 2013, as the group released its Freedom in the World 2014 report Thursday. The authors warned of serious setbacks in some of the worlds more influential countries. Perhaps nowhere was the fall from freedom more visible than in Egypt, where angry protests gave way to a military coup and a crackdown on dissent. Freedom in the World 2014 report author Arch Puddington argued that in many ways, Egypt was not alone. We are at a time right now where the leaders of the authoritarian community are more self-assured and arrogant than theyve been in the past and theres a kind of a loose coalition, alliance of the repressive countries, said Puddington. Color revolutions

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Almost no region fared worse than Eurasia, which saw increased persecution and media crackdowns in Russia and Ukraine. According to Freedom House, 78 percent of the regions population lives in countries that are "not free.

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David Kramer, the president of Freedom House, thinks less free countries abroad reduces opportunities for cooperation. When you have freedom on the decline that suggests you have fewer stable countries, fewer and less reliable partners, said Kramer. Democracy under duress

Freedom House said democracies, especially the U.S., also seem plagued by self-doubt, unable or unwilling to act, a condition creating adverse outcomes elsewhere in the world. The group cited the lack of progress in the Middle East as a prime example. The Washington Institutes David Schenker said surveys suggest U.S. citizens are more interested in internal affairs. The United States public is not at all interested in having a more, military involvement in the Middle East or even financial involvement or diplomatic involvement.Weve seen that in the polling.Theyre more focused on domestic matters, said Schenker. You still have advocates and activists and human rights defenders in many places around the world looking to the U.S. for leadership and theyre just not finding it the way they would like.

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Report: Freedom Declined Worldwide in 2013