Measuring Freedom

Visit the following Web site for some insights into how freedom is measured in countries around the world.

http://www.freedomhouse.org/

Most of us who live in economically developed countries take our political and economic freedom for granted because we have known little else. Such freedom is not the norm throughout most of the world. Freedom House is an organization that attempts to promote democracy and freedom around the world. Founded nearly sixty years ago by Eleanor Roosevelt, Wendell Willkie, and other Americans concerned with the mounting threats to peace and democracy, Freedom House has been a vigorous proponent of democratic values and a steadfast opponent of dictatorships of the far left and the far right. At its Web site you will find its annual assessment of the state of freedom which it does by assigning each country and territory the status of "Free," "Partly Free," or "Not Free" and by averaging the country's or territory's political rights and civil liberties ratings. Go to the pages with the aggregate and sub-category rankings for 2006 and determine which countries have the best records and which ones the worst.

How do you feel about the rankings? Are they legitimate? Will they have any impact on developing democratic ideas and ideals? Express your opinion in the space provided below.

1			On what basis are the rankings of Free, Partly Free, or Not Free assigned to the countries and territories? Do you think the methodology used in the assessment of these rankings is legitimate and viable? Why or why not?
2			In assigning the ranking of Free or Not Free, how is the concept of Freedom defined? What importance do you believe countries place on their ranking? Is the ranking itself an incentive to move (or stay) in the direction of freedom? Explain your position.
3			How should these rankings be used by advocates of democratic values to develop and promote democratic political rights, civil liberties, representative government, and other democratic ideals in nations struggling to make the transition from authoritarian government to democratic government?