Democracy in South Caucasus

International organization Freedom House recently published their annual report for 2011, evaluating the level of freedom in 195 countries. Overall, the global situation has deteriorated compared to 2010, despite the so-called Arab Spring uprisings. Among the three South Caucasus nations, Azerbaijan has the worst results, ranked among "non-free" countries; Georgia and Armenia are labeled "semi-free".

Freedom House was founded in 1941, and has published its report on freedom around the world since 1973. It determines its rankings based on an evaluation of freedom of speech, judicial independence, level of corruption, development of civil society institutions, and other democratic indicators.