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Washington: Ballooning oil and gas wealth is contributing to an
accelerated process of democratic decline in the leading energy rich
states of the former Soviet Union according to “Nations in Transit
2008,” a new study released Tuesday by Freedom House.
The study finds a sharp and systematic erosion
of accountability and transparency in Russia, Azerbaijan and
Kazakhstan, affecting a range of sectors, such as civil society,
electoral process, and media and judicial independence.
Nations in Transit examines democratic
development in the countries of Central and Eastern Europe, the
Balkans and the former Soviet Union. Since 1999, Russia, Azerbaijan
and Kazakhstan have moved backward on every Nations in Transit
indicator, with the exception of Russia’s still very low score on
corruption, which is slightly better now than a decade ago.
“The resource curse appears to be rearing its
head in the former Soviet Union,” said Freedom House director of
studies Christopher Walker. “As oil profits roll in, authoritarian
governments are increasingly clamping down on critical institutions,
reducing already weak accountability and transparency.”
The report does not suggest that energy
resources transformed these countries into authoritarian systems.
Instead, the new wealth is acting as an “authoritarian
propellant,” allowing dominant power holders to further muzzle
independent voices and assert control over crucial institutions.
This regional group of authoritarian nations,
led by Russia, represents part of a global trend in which oil-rich
countries are becoming increasingly antidemocratic and vocal. The
study’s release comes as European Union and Russia leaders prepare
for a summit June 26 to 27 in Western Siberia.
“European Union [EU] decision makers tasked
with constructing a sound relationship with the Russian government
should be seriously concerned about Russia’s trajectory,” said
Jeannette Goehring, managing editor of “Nations in Transit.”
The new report examines events during 2007. The
full report, its methodology and an explanatory essay are available
online. Other key findings include:
Assault on Rules-Based Institutions:
Authoritarian governments within the Organization for Security and
Cooperation in Europe successfully delivered that body’s
chairmanship to Kazakhstan, the first nondemocratic country to head
the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (Kazakhstan
will serve its one-year term in 2010). A parallel initiative sought
to gut the capacity of the Organization for Security and Cooperation
in Europe‘s Office of Democratic Institutions and Human Rights,
including its well-regarded election-monitoring function.
Russia: Russia’s decline continued in 2007,
with steps backward in electoral process, civil society and national
governance. Russia’s orchestrated leadership succession process
suggests that critical institutions now serve principally as
instruments for Russia’s incumbent authorities. The confluence of
official state power with the commanding heights of the
economy—along with the security services—has forged a deeply
entrenched “Iron Triangle” of interests in Russia.
Reform Fatigue in New EU States: Central and
Southeastern Europe, along with the Baltic countries, are pressing
forward with their reform agendas. However, some political elites in
new EU member have pursued private interests rather than those that
serve the public good alienating many ordinary citizens. News media
in the new democracies are under greater pressure from governmental
and other powerful elites.
Freedom House is an independent nongovernmental
organization that supports the expansion of freedom in the world.
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