Freedom in the World 2012: The Annual Survey of Political Rights and Civil Liberties - Softcover

While there are many sources of economic data, good political data is hard to find. Freedom House's survey is an exception. For anyone concerned with the state of freedom, or simply with the state of the world, Freedom in the World is an indispensable guide. -- Fareed Zakaria, CNN * Newsweek * Freedom in the World is an invaluable source for scholars and essential reading for policymakers and political leaders concerned with the promotion and consolidation of democracy. -- Orlando Patterson, Harvard University This overview will be indispensable to anyone interested in political and civil liberties. * Publishers Weekly * Freedom in the World is the Michelin Guide to democracy's development. -- Daniel Henninger, Wall Street Journal An essential source, Freedom in the World works from the assumption that freedom is a universal value, not reserved for the rich. -- Francis Fukuyama, author of The End of History and the Last Man The explosion of democracy is a central development of our era. Freedom House provides an invaluable resource in this authoritative survey of the on-the-ground realities of the state of freedom around the world. -- Jessica Tuchman Mathews, Carnegie Endowment for International Peace This annual survey does the admirable, and difficult, work of explaining which governments are honoring the principles of human liberty and which aren't. * The New Republic * This well-organized, easy-to-use work will benefit readers at all levels of interest and expertise. Highly recommended. * CHOICE * This reference text produced by Freedom House, a human rights advocacy and monitoring nonprofit, presents a comprehensive set of reports detailing various social metrics collected by governments and non-government organizations on political rights and civil liberties. There are 194 country reports that briefly summarize the history of each country, with a focus on political history. After this historical overview, information is offered on the kind of government they have, major institutions, relationships with other governments or powers, and the status of various political groups or social identities. The focus is on liberal democratic ideas concerning freedom and its exercise or constraint, and in this way is concerned with individual freedoms. The introductory material summarizes trends of 2011 in the data and in terms of historical narrative. The country reports take up most of the text, while the last hundred pages consist of disputed reports, a section on their survey methodology, and tables of ratings. This text is released yearly. * Book News, Inc. *

Freedom in the World, the Freedom House flagship survey whose findings have been published annually since 1972, is the standard-setting comparative assessment of global political rights and civil liberties. The survey ratings and narrative reports on 194 countries and 14 territories are used by policymakers, the media, international corporations, civic activists, and human rights defenders to monitor trends in democracy and track improvements and setbacks in freedom worldwide.