Most of the seven Western Balkan countries (Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Kosovo, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Serbia) have remained in the category of 'hybrid' regimes or the so-called 'governments in transition', according to the latest survey conducted by the Washington-based NGO Freedom House.

Serbia is one of the Balkan countries that has significantly lagged behind in implementing democratic reforms, according to data published in the report titled Nations in Transit - From Democratic Decline to Authoritarian Aggression. According to the report, for three years straight, Serbia has not once fallen into the category of democratic states but has been ranked among the hybrid regimes, where the government is based upon authoritarianism as a result of democratic changes that have not been fully carried out. Along with Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina has received the most drastic backlash in the areas of democratic management at the State level and civil society.

The country in the Western Balkans that achieved the biggest progress in 2021 is Kosovo in the area of democratic rule at the State level and the judiciary system. It did not record setbacks in any of the areas cited by Freedom House as criteria in the report. According to their survey, most of the Western Balkan countries (Albania, BiH, Croatia, Kosovo, Montenegro, North Macedonia and Serbia) still remain in the category of hybrid regimes or governments in transition, except for Croatia, which is referred to as a semi-consolidated democracy.

The part of the report, which focuses on the Western Balkans, shows that four countries - Albania, Croatia, Montenegro and North Macedonia - have overall remained in a state of stagnation despite the fact that Croatia and Montenegro have progressed or regressed in some areas. As for Albania and Northern Macedonia, there has been no change in their performance. The overall ranking of the Western Balkan countries goes as follows: 1) Croatia, 2) Montenegro, 3) North Macedonia, 4) Serbia, 5) Albania, 6) BiH and 7) Kosovo.

In a broader context, the Freedom House report indicates that at the background of the war in Ukraine, autocrats are going on the offensive and are empowering themselves in an area that was seen as what was considered 'a beacon of hope' for democratic progress. It was also highlighted that Vladimir Putin was increasingly positioning Russia as 'a protector of autocratic like-minded people in Europe and Eurasia'. According to the report, the clearest proof of that have been the support for Belarusian dictator Alexander Lukashenko after the 2020 Presidential elections, which part of the local and international public described as 'abnormal' as well as the Russian aid to Kazakhstan's President Kasim Jomart Tokayev during the riots, which resulted from the citizens' discontent with the authorities there and the economic inequality.

'Since February 24, Moscow has been waging a brutal war of conquest in the neighboring Ukraine. If that attempt proves successful, this would be the first time in the post-Cold War period that an authoritarian power overthrows another country's freely-elected government by force,' Freedom House writes.

The text further specifies that conditions have started to deteriorate in other autocracies as well. 'Along with Russia, Belarus and Kazakhstan, those that have performed the worst are: Azerbaijan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan, whose rulers have basically torn down the pillars of open society, including independent media and civil society organizations,' said from the American NGO.

Freedom House president Michael J. Abramowitz said that the liberal international order is as strong as the democrats defending it. 'The road to the revival of authoritarianism is paved with the political complacency of democracy. Despite the extraordinary unity shown by democracies in response to Putin's war of conquest, we need to use the current situation to counter the rise of authoritarianism not just in Europe and Eurasia but also around the world. It is necessary for the advocates of freedom - from governments to ordinary civilians - to use all available legal, economic and diplomatic means to reject the authoritarian aggression and lay the foundations for a safer, freer, fairer and more prosperous world,' Abramowitz said.

Mike Smeltzer, leader of the project Nations in Transit, pointed out that the growing authoritarian tendencies among political leaders are becoming even more noticeable. 'Over the last 20 years, the countries that once stood for democratic ideals are more and more falling under the rule of authoritarian powerful people, lured by the promise of finding quick solutions to complex, systemic challenges,' Smeltzer said.

'When the powerful step into power, they try to keep it by all means. They even go as far as to eradicate democracy in the neighboring countries. I am positively encouraged by the solidarity many democracies have shown with Ukraine but it will take sustained, determined and united efforts to stop the broad authoritarian tide and help countries that have promised to return on the road to democracy. I hope the tragic war will encourage the advocates of democracy to act,' Smeltzer concluded.

According to Freedom House, last year, for the first time in the 21st century, the predominant type of government in the region was the so-called 'hybrid' regime combining democratic with autocratic elements. It was found that in the period after 2004 (in the last 18 years), three authoritarian states made a democratic step forward and moved into the category of hybrid regimes - Moldova, Kosovo and Armenia. In the same period, however, four democracies slipped into what Freedom House calls the 'gray zone of hybrid rule' - Hungary, Montenegro, Northern Macedonia and Serbia.

The Freedom House report Nations in Transit represents an annual review of the democratic reforms implemented by 29 former communist states in the CEE region. The report has been compiled and published ever since 1995.