Acknowledgements

Donors

This report was made possible by the generous support of the Dutch Postcode Lottery, Google, Inc., the Hurford Foundation, the Merrill Family Foundation, Meta Platforms, Inc., Robert Tuttle & Maria Hummer-Tuttle, and the generous donors to the Michael J. Abramowitz Fund for Freedom in the World. 

The Freedom in the World Junior Fellowship program gives young researchers critical work experience in the democracy and human rights field. The nine-month program employs Junior Fellows in core research positions to contribute to this report, and equips them with a range of marketable skills that can propel them on to successful careers.

The Freedom in the World Junior Fellowship program is generously underwritten by the Merrill Family Foundation. The Junior Fellows contributing to Freedom in the World 2025 include:

• Phumelele Mncina, Junior Fellow for West, Central, and Southern Africa
• Nodari Tsaava, Junior Fellow for Eurasia
• Rachel Simroth, Junior Fellow for North and East Africa

Freedom House is committed to editorial independence and is solely responsible for this report’s content. No government sourced funds were used in the production of this report. 

Research and Editorial Team

• Matthew Barak, Research Associate
• Yana Gorokhovskaia, Research Director, Strategy and Design
• Cathryn Grothe, Senior Research Analyst 
• Mary Hopkins, Research Associate
• Amelia Larson, Associate Editor
• David Meijer, Editor
• Shannon O’Toole, Editorial Director
• Noelle Rojas, Research Operations Associate
• Tyler Roylance, Staff Editor
• Adrian Shahbaz, Vice President for Research and Analysis
• Lora Uhlig, Associate Editor

The Policy Recommendations were authored by Annie Boyajian and Katie LaRoque.

Analysts

• Baba Adou, University of Florida
• Fatimah Alfareh, Independent researcher
• Aurora Almada e Santos, Instituto de História Contemporânea da Universidade Nova de Lisboa
• Victoria Andreasyan, Independent researcher
• Ignacio Arana Araya, Assistant Professor, Carnegie Mellon University
• Rasha Al Aqeedi, Independent researcher
• Bojan Baća, University of Montenegro
• Slava (Veaceslav) Balan, PhD candidate in Law, University of Ottawa
• Viviana Baraybar Hidalgo, Nuffield College, University of Oxford
• Daniel Barría Yorins, Independent researcher
• Mariana Batista, Universidade Federal de Pernambuco
• Bruno Binetti, Inter-American Dialogue
• Sebastian Bitar, School of Government, Universidad de los Andes, Colombia
• Gustavo Bonifaz, Independent researcher
• Brett Carter, Stanford University; University of Southern California
• Hannah Chapman, University of Oklahoma
• Vladimir Chlouba, University of Richmond
• Peter Clegg, University of the West of England, Bristol
• Kristian Coates Ulrichsen, Rice University
• Costa Constanti, Independent researcher
• Karin Deutsch Karlekar, Director, Writers at Risk, PEN America
• Neil DeVotta, Wake Forest University
• Julian Dierkes, University of Mannheim
• Rose Dlougatch, Independent researcher
• Boniface Dulani, Independent researcher
• Daniel Eizenga, Africa Center for Strategic Studies
• Sebastian Elischer, University of Florida
• Golnaz Esfandiari, RFE/RL
• Connor M. Ewing, University of Toronto
• Brady Flynn, Position Green  
• Jon Fraenkel, Victoria University of Wellington
• Courtney Freer, Emory University
• Sergiu Gherghina, University of Glasgow
• Hamida Giyasbayli, Independent researcher
• Anas El Gomati, Sadeq Institute
• Abdellatif El Hamamouchi, Independent researcher
• Jamie Hitchen, Independent researcher
• Eva Marín Hlynsdóttir, University of Iceland
• Niklas Hultin, George Mason University
• Harry Hummel, Independent researcher
• Salomé Ietter, University of Warwick
• Rico Isaacs, University of Lincoln
• Kristen Kao, University of Gothenburg
• Weronika Kiebzak, Independent researcher
• Aleksandra Kjakste, Lecturer, University of Latvia
• Marko Kmezic, University of Graz
• Ágnes Kovács, Eötvös Loránd University
• Joshua Kurlantzick, Senior Fellow for Southeast and South Asia, Council on Foreign Relations
• Olena Lennon, University of New Haven
• Michael Lettieri, Center for US-Mexican Studies, University of California San Diego
• Seulgie Lim, Bates College
• Lone Lindholt, Independent researcher
• Maria Lindholt, Independent researcher
• David McGrane, University of Saskatchewan
• Rachael McLellan, University of Glasgow
• Mpumelelo Mkhabela, Independent researcher
• Jasmin Mujanovic, New Lines Institute
• Kuniaki Nemoto, Musashi University
• Franklin Oduro, Independent researcher
• Lucas Olo Fernandes, Independent researcher
• Susan Ostermann, University of Notre Dame
• Ana Pastor, Independent researcher
• Andreas Pehr, Institute of Federalism
• Aljaž Pengov Bitenc, Independent researcher
• Lucas Perelló, Florida Atlantic Univeristy
• Amalia Perez Martin, California State University, Sacramento (CSUS)
• Elizabeth Ramey, Independent researcher
• Adrien M. Ratsimbaharison, Benedict College, Columbia, SC (USA)
• Milos Resimic, Independent researcher
• Elizabeth Rhoads, Lund University
• Tyson Roberts, University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA)
• Maryia Rohava, Independent researcher
• Rashad Rolle, Independent researcher
• Marek Rybar, Masaryk University Brno, Czechia
• Salvatore Sberna, University of Pisa
• Michael Semple, Queen’s University Belfast
• Debbie Sharnak, Rowan University  
• Maggie Shum, Penn State Erie, the Behrend College
• Olga Skrypnyk, Board Chair, Crimean Human Rights Group
• Natalia Slavney, Stimson Center
• Ruzha Smilova, Sofia University and the Centre for Liberal Strategies
• Nathan Stormont, Refugee lawyer and independent researcher
• Dercio Tsandzana, Independent researcher
• Noah Tucker, University of St. Andrews
• Wouter Veenendaal, Leiden University
• Diego Velazquez, Journalist
• Andres Villar, Independent researcher
• Franz von Bergen, Independent researcher
• Nikolaus von Twickel, Center for Liberal Modernity, Berlin
• Leticia Yeboah, Position Green

Advisers

• Rita Abrahamsen, University of Ottawa
• Alejandro Anaya-Muñoz, Universidad Iberoamericana Ciudad de México
• Munzoul Assal, Chr Michelsen Institute, Norway
• Rodrigo Barrenechea, Universidad del Pacifico
• Florian Bieber, University of Graz
• Julio Carrión, University of Delaware
• Licia Cianetti, Centre for Elections, Democracy, Accountability and Representation (CEDAR), University of Birmingham, UK
• Javier Corrales, Amherst College
• Abel Abate Demissie, Chatham House
• Renan Fernandes, Policy consultant
• Šumit Ganguly, The Hoover Institute, Stanford University
• Zaha Hassan, Carnegie Endowment for International Peace
• Eva Heidbreder, Otto von Guericke University, Magdeburg
• Richard Javad Heydarian, University of the Philippines, Asian Center
• Steven Heydemann, Smith College
• David Holiday, Independent researcher
• Khalid Ibrahim, Gulf Centre for Human Rights
• Orysia Lutsevych, Ukraine Forum
• Houda Mzioudet, Independent researcher
• Andrew J. Nathan, Class of 1919 Professor of Political Science, Columbia University
• Elizabeth Plantan, Assistant Professor of Political Science, Stetson University
• Catherine Putz, The Diplomat
• Jasmin Ramsey, Center for Human Rights in Iran
• Lahra Smith, Georgetown University
• Kristina Stockwood, Gulf Centre for Human Rights
• Ardeth M. Thawnghmung, University of Massachusetts Lowell
• Susan Thomson, Colgate University
• Maya Tudor, Oxford University
• Susanna D. Wing, Haverford College