The 2011 edition of the Countries at the Crossroads report analyzes the performance of 35 countries, including six in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA). The countries' scores cover the period from April 2007 through December 2010, and generally indicate grim and deteriorating conditions in the run-up to the Arab Spring.
In February 2010, under the auspices of Freedom House, David J. Kramer and two independent analysts, Robert Nurick and Damon Wilson, traveled to Ukraine to assess the state of democracy and human rights one year after the inauguration of Viktor Yanukovych as the country’s fourth president since independence. The team traveled to Kyiv, Kharkiv, and Lviv to meet with a wide range of government officials, political opposition figures, civil society actors, journalists, and students.
