Freedom House: Armenia democracy declines for first time since 2018

PanARMENIAN.Net - Armenia's democracy score has declined for the first time since the "velvet revolution" in 2018, Freedom House said in a fresh Nations in Transit report, called "The Antidemocratic Turn".

In particular, the country's score declined from 3.00 to 2.96, and it still remains a Semi-Consolidated Authoritarian Regime. Neighboring Georgia is a Transitional Government or Hybrid Regime, while Azerbaijan is a Consolidated Authoritarian Regime.

The report says the war unleashed by Azerbaijan against Nagorno-Karabakh has triggered a domestic crisis in Armenia that risks undoing the success of the 2018 Velvet Revolution.

"The country’s democracy score declined for the first time since the revolution, and developments to date this year, including tensions between the military and Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, demonstrate that the situation could grow worse," Freedom House said.

In the 2020 report, Armenia earned the largest two-year improvement ever recorded in Freedom House’s Nations in Transit report. The country's score climbed from 2.93 to 3.00 as a result of improvements in the electoral process and the corruption situation.