The Foreign Service Journal, March 2005

The 2004 survey data reveal posi- tive, albeit modest, trends in the Middle East and North Africa. While no countries in the region changed status, small gains were registered in Egypt, Jordan, Morocco and Qatar. Among the study’s other findings: Of the world’s 192 states, 119 are electoral democracies (89 free and 30 partly free), an increase of two since 2003. While these states are not all rated free, all provide considerable political space and media access for opposition movements and allow for elections that meet minimum interna- tional standards of ballot secrecy and vote tabulation. Over the last 15 years, the number of electoral democracies has risen from 69 out of 167 (41 percent) to 119 out of 192 (62 percent). On average, during that time frame an additional three states have adopted minimal standards for free and fair elections each year. Of the 49 countries rated not free, 19 received the worst possible numer- ical rating (7) for political rights. The broadest restrictions on political activ- ity are found in Belarus, Burma, Cuba, China, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Haiti, Iraq, Laos, Libya, North Korea, Saudi Arabia, Sudan, Swaziland, Syria, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Vietnam and Zimbabwe. Four territories, Chechnya (Russia), Kashmir (Pakis- tan), Tibet (China) and Western Sahara (Morocco), also received the lowest political rights rating. The broadest violations of civil lib- erties — including freedom of speech, rule of law and personal autonomy — take place in nine countries: Burma, Cuba, Libya, North Korea, Saudi Arabia, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Turkmenistan. Chechnya and Tibet are also included in this category. Of these, eight countries — Burma, Cuba, Libya, North Korea, Saudi Arabia, Sudan, Syria, and M A R C H 2 0 0 5 / F O R E I G N S E R V I C E J O U R N A L 11 C YBERNOTES At a time when the Middle East looms larger than ever among foreign poli- cy priorities, The Gulf/2000 Project Web site is an excellent candidate for your favorites’ list. It is a user-friendly portal to the best resources on the Persian Gulf and the Middle East on the Web. For each of the eight countries of the Gulf, selected links are provided to resources in the following categories: general background, government, what’s new on the Web, national press, demography, human rights, oil/energy and com- merce, and bookstore. The country resources are supplemented by a References section containing collections of research links grouped under nine different headings, such as “”9/11 Attack and the Iraqi War” and “Strategic Issues/Security.” The Map Collections section contains links to regional maps, cultural and ethnographic maps, political maps and more. Finally, the Gulf News section contains links to eight key news resources on the Middle East, as well as links to CNN and the BBC. The Gulf/2000 Project was created in 1993 at Columbia University’s School of International Affairs and Public Policy as a service to scholars, government officials, business people, journalists and other specialists who have a profes- sional association with the Persian Gulf and Gulf studies. The project is pri- vately funded and not associated with any government. A network of specialists from the different countries has been created, and an electronic library and research service established. A series of conferences and workshops has been held to exchange ideas and discuss the longer-term trends affecting the stability and security of the region. Site of the Month: http://gulf2000.columbia.edu 50 Years Ago... Yet the very temper of our time, to begin with, reminds us often of Jefferson’s day when the French Minister to the U.S. wrote to Paris: “Jefferson is an American, and as such he cannot sincerely be our friend. An American is the enemy of all the peoples of Europe.” (One might say that in some ways a few of us on either side of the Atlantic have not much altered our 18th- century opinions.) – Stuart L. Hannon, “The Mind of Thomas Jefferson,” FSJ , March 1955.