Nations in Transit
2023
Acknowledgements
Nations in Transit is a collaborative effort between Freedom House staff and a network of regional authors and expert reviewers.
Donors
Nations in Transit 2023 was made possible through the generous support of the US Agency for International Development, The Dutch Postcode Lottery, The John B. Hurford Foundation, and The Jyllands-Posten Foundation. Freedom House is solely responsible for the report’s content.
Authors
The research for Nations in Transit 2023 was led by Mike Smeltzer and Alexandra Karppi. Dasha M and Katie LaRoque were instrumental in the writing of this reports. Shannon O’Toole and Tyler Roylance edited the report.
Nations in Transit 2023 would not be possible without the contributions of the report’s advisers, country experts, and external reviewers.
- Albania: Anonymous
- Armenia: Anonymous
- Azerbaijan: Anonymous
- Belarus: Tatsiana Ziniakova and Artyom Shraibman
- Bosnia and Herzegovina: Dr. Neven Anđelić
- Bulgaria: Angel Petrov
- Croatia: Dr. Dario Čepo
- Czech Republic: Albín Sybera
- Estonia: Dr. Liisa Talving
- Georgia: Anonymous
- Hungary: Zsuzsanna Végh
- Kazakhstan: Shalkar Nurseitov
- Kosovo: Anonymous
- Kyrgyzstan: Bermet Talant
- Latvia: Dr. Inese Āboliņa
- Lithuania: Dr. Ieva Petronytė-Urbonavičienė
- Moldova: Denis Cenusa
- Montenegro: Milena Muk and Marko Sošić
- North Macedonia: Dr. Ognen Vangelov
- Poland: Dr. Anna Wójcik and Miłosz Wiatrowski
- Romania: Claudia Badulescu
- Russia: Dr. Margarita Zavadskaya
- Serbia: Nikola Burazer
- Slovakia: Roman Hlatky
- Slovenia: Dr. Meta Novak
- Tajikistan: Anonymous
- Turkmenistan: Anonymous
- Ukraine: Nazar Boyko
- Uzbekistan: Anonymous
Advisers
- Dr. Kristie D. Evenson, independent researcher
- Dr. Petra Guasti, Associate Professor of Democratic Theory, Faculty of Social Sciences, Charles University
- Dr. Edward Lemon, Research Assistant Professor at the Department of International Affairs, The Bush School of Government and Public Service
- Dr. Anna Ohanyan, Richard B. Finnegan Distinguished Professor of International Relations at Stonehill College and Non-Resident Senior Scholar at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace
- Dr. Maria Popova, Associate Professor of Political Science, McGill University
The Nations in Transit team is grateful to the entire Freedom House staff for their additional expert input.
How to cite this report
Please use the following citation when referencing the report, its summary of findings, or select country reports:
Smeltzer, Mike. Nations in Transit 2023, Freedom House, 2023, nationsintransit.org
Karppi, “After Populists’ Defeat, Damage Must Be Repaired,” in Smeltzer, Mike. Nations in Transit 2023, Freedom House, 2023, nationsintransit.org
Anonymous, “Albania,” in Smeltzer, Mike. Nations in Transit 2023, Freedom House, 2023, nationsintransit.org
Explore the Report
Read the Full Report
Read the essays and review the data from our latest Nations in Transit report.
Explore the Map
In 2023, Democracy Scores declined in 11 out of the 29 countries in the report, and 7 countries earned improvements. Yet civic activists and democratic leaders continued to strive for better governance across the diverse region
Policy Recommendations
To counter the spread of antidemocratic practices in Europe and Eurasia, democratic countries—especially the United States and European Union (EU) member states—should consider pursuing the following policy priorities.