The migration crisis and wrenching economic problems are threatening both the survival of the European Union and the stability of Eurasia’s entrenched dictatorships, according to Nations in Transit 2016, the 21st edition of Freedom House’s annual report on democracy in Central and Eastern Europe, the Balkans, and Eurasia. According to the Project Director Nate Schenkkan, renewed nationalism and the erosion of freedom of movement and other fundamental principles are threatening the consolidation of democracy in Eastern Europe, and with it the entire European project. The average Democracy Score for the Balkans has been declining since 2010. Strongmen in Serbia and Montenegro have taken nearly unchallenged control of state institutions. In Macedonia, the ruling party’s overreach led to massive corruption and election-rigging scandals in 2015 and a persistent political crisis. In Bosnia and Kosovo, state-building has reached an impasse. Governmental structures built to keep the peace are preventing progress, and political and economic stagnation are fueling popular frustration. The report is available for download here.
Source: Freedom House
