REPORT LAUNCH: Freedom in the World 2026
Date
March 19, 2026 – 10:30AM
– 11:45AM EDT
Freedom House hosted a launch event for Freedom in the World 2026: The Growing Shadow of Autocracy, our flagship report that has been tracking global trends in political rights and civil liberties annually since 1973.
The report’s authors presented key findings on the global state of democracy and freedom in 2025 and provided an analysis of major trends impacting fundamental rights over the last two decades. An expert panel discussion examined the implications of the report’s findings for the international system and the threat posed by emboldened autocrats.
Speakers include:
- Thomas Carothers, Harvey V. Fineberg Chair for Democracy Studies; Director, Democracy, Conflict, and Governance Program, Carnegie Endowment for International Peace
- Jamie Fly, Chief Executive Officer, Freedom House
- Yana Gorokhovskaia, Research Director, Strategy and Design, Freedom House; Co-author of Freedom in the World
- Cathryn Grothe, Senior Research Analyst, Democracy Studies, Freedom House; Co-author of Freedom in the World
- Matthew Kaminski, Editorial Chair, Middle East Broadcasting Networks and Founding Editor, POLITICO Europe
- Amy Slipowitz, Research Manager, Free Them All: The Fred Hiatt Program to Free Political Prisoners, Freedom House; Co-author of Freedom in the World
- Maya Tudor, Professor of Politics and Public Policy, Blavatnik School of Government and Fellow, St Hilda's College, University of Oxford