Epress.am News from Armenia
International human rights watchdog Freedom House, in its Nations in Transit 2014 report on post-communist democratic governance published on June 12, categorized Armenia, along with Kosovo and Kyrgyzstan, as a "semi-consolidated authoritarian regime".
Of the 29 countries across Eurasia, the Balkans, and Central Europe assessed in 2013, 13 were rated as democracies, 6 as transitional regimes, and 10 as authoritarian regimes.
The countries were rated on a scale of 1 to 7 with 1 representing the highest and 7 representing the lowest level of democratic progress. Armenia was given an overall Democracy Score of 5.36.
The overall score is an average comprised of 7 categories: electoral process, civil society, independent media, national democratic governance, local democratic governance, judicial framework and independence, and corruption. Of these 7 categories, Armenia received a score of 5.25 to 5.75 (which is quite high) for all except one — civil society, which was given a score of 3.75.
Of Armenia's neighbors, Georgia, with a score of 4.68, was considered a transitional government. In the same category is Ukraine, which received a score of 4.93.
Azerbaijan and Russia, however, were considered "consolidated authoritarian regimes," receiving scores of 6.68 and 6.29, respectively.