Hostname: page-component-6bf8c574d5-r4mrb Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2025-03-08T05:15:27.966Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

The Politics of Rating Freedom: Ideological Affinity, Private Authority, and the Freedom in the World Ratings

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  18 August 2017

Sarah Sunn Bush
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

The Freedom in the World (FITW) ratings of countries’ freedom, created by Freedom House in 1972, are widely used by many U.S. audiences, including journalists, policymakers, and scholars. Why and how did these ratings acquire private authority in the United States? Furthermore, why and to what extent have they retained private authority over time and across different audiences? Contrary to previous research on private authority, which emphasizes the role of raters’ expertise and independence, I advance an argument that emphasizes the role of ideological affinity between raters and users. Specifically, I argue that ratings are more likely to have authority among actors that share raters’ ideas about concept definition and coding. I also argue that ratings are more likely to have authority among weak actors that depend on powerful other users of the ratings. Diverse evidence and methods—including data on the ratings’ usage, an internal archive of Freedom House records, interviews with key informants, and a statistical analysis of bias—support the argument.

Type
Articles
Information
Perspectives on Politics , Volume 15 , Issue 3 , September 2017 , pp. 711 - 731
Copyright
Copyright © American Political Science Association 2017 

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Avant, Deborah D., Finnemore, Martha, and Sell, Susan K.. 2010a. “Who Governs the Globe?” In Who Governs the Globe, ed. Avant, Deborah D., Finnemore, Martha, and Sell, Susan K.. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.Google Scholar
Avant, Deborah D., Finnemore, Martha, and Sell, Susan K.. 2010b. “Conclusion: Authority, Legitimacy, and Accountability in Global Politics.” In Who Governs the Globe, ed. Avant, Deborah D., Finnemore, Martha, and Sell, Susan K.. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.Google Scholar
Bob, Clifford. 2005. The Marketing of Rebellion: Insurgents, Media, and International Activism. New York: Cambridge University Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bollen, Kenneth A. 1986. “Political Rights and Political Liberties in Nations: An Evaluation of Human Rights Measures, 1950 to 1984.” Human Rights Quarterly 8(4): 567–91.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bradley, Christopher G. 2015. “International Organizations and the Production of Indicators: The Case of Freedom House.” In The Quiet Power of Indicators: Measuring Governance, Corruption, and the Rule of Law, ed. Merry, Sally Engle, Davis, Kevin E., and Kingsbury, Benedict. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.Google Scholar
Broome, André and Quirk, Joel. 2015. “Governing the World at a Distance: The Practice of Global Benchmarking.” Review of International Studies 41(5): 819–841.Google Scholar
Bruner, Christopher M. and Abdelal, Rawi. 2005. “To Judge Leviathan: Sovereign Credit Ratings, National Law, and the World Economy.” Journal of Public Policy 25(2): 191–217.Google Scholar
Bunce, Valerie J. and Wolchik, Sharon L.. 2012. “Concepts of Democracy Among Donors and Recipients of Democracy Promotion: An Empirical Pilot Study.” In The Conceptual Politics of Democracy Promotion, ed. Hobson, Christopher and Kurki, Milja. London: Routledge.Google Scholar
Busby, Joshua W. and Monten, Jonathan. 2008. “Without Heirs? Assessing the Decline of Establishment Internationalism in U.S. Foreign Policy.” Perspectives on Politics 6(3): 451–72.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bush, Sarah Sunn. 2011. “International Politics and the Spread of Quotas for Women in Legislatures.” International Organization 65(1): 103–37.Google Scholar
Bush, Sarah Sunn. 2015. The Taming of Democracy Assistance: Why Democracy Promotion Does Not Confront Dictators. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.Google Scholar
Bush, Sarah Sunn. 2016. “When and Why Is Civil Society Support ‘Made-in-America’? Delegation to Non-State Actors in American Democracy Promotion.” Review of International Organizations 11(3): 361–85.Google Scholar
Bush, Sarah Sunn and Prather, Lauren. 2017. “The Promise and Limits of Election Observers in Building Election Credibility.” Journal of Politics 79(3): forthcoming.Google Scholar
Bush, Sarah Sunn and Prather, Lauren. 2018. “Who’s There? Election Observer Identity and the Local Credibility of Elections.” International Organization 72(3): forthcoming.Google Scholar
Büthe, Tim. 2012. “Beyond Supply and Demand: A Political–Economic Conceptual Model.” In Governance by Indicators: Global Power through Classification and Rankings, ed. Davis, Kevin, Fisher, Angelina, Kingsbury, Benedict and Merry, Sally Engle. New York: Oxford University Press.Google Scholar
Büthe, Tim and Mattli, Walter. 2011. The New Global Rulers: The Privatization of Regulation in the World Economy. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press.Google Scholar
Chwieroth, Jeffrey M. 2009. Capital Ideas: The IMF and the Rise of Financial Liberalization. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Cooley, Alexander. 2015. “The Emerging Politics of International Rankings and Ratings: A Framework for Analysis.” In Ranking the World: The Politics of International Rankings and Ratings, ed. Cooley, Alexander and Snyder, Jack. New York: Cambridge University Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Coppedge, Michael, et al. . 2011. “Conceptualizing and Measuring Democracy: A New Approach.” Perspectives on Politics 9(2): 247–67.Google Scholar
Coppedge, Michael, et al. . 2016. “V-Dem Codebook v6.” Varieties of Democracy (V-Dem) Project. Available at https://www.v-dem.net/files/42/Codebookv6.pdf; accessed April 3, 2017.Google Scholar
Cutler, A. Claire, Haufler, Virginia, and Porter, Tony. 1999. “Private Authority and International Affairs.” In Private Authority and International Affairs, ed. Claire Cutler, A., Haufler, Virginia, and Porter, Tony. Albany: SUNY Press.Google Scholar
Dahl, Robert A. 1957. “The Concept of Power.” Systems Research and Behavioral Science 2(3): 201–15.Google Scholar
Davis, Kevin E., Kingsbury, Benedict, and Merry, Sally Engle. 2012. Introduction: Governance by Indicators. In Governance by Indicators: Global Power through Classification and Rankings, ed. Davis, Kevin E., Fisher, Angelina, Kingsbury, Benedict, and Merry, Sally Engle. Oxford: Oxford University Press.Google Scholar
Department for International Development (DFID). 2011. “Briefing Note.” On file with author.Google Scholar
Fioretos, Orfeo. 2011. “Historical Institutionalism in International Relations.” International Organization 65(2): 367–99.Google Scholar
Gastil, Raymond D. 1974. “Reply to the Critics.” Worldview 17(11): 42–3.Google Scholar
Gastil, Raymond D. 1986. Freedom in the World: 1985–1986. Westport, C.T.: Greenwood Press.Google Scholar
Gastil, Raymond D. 1990. “The Comparative Survey of Freedom: Experiences and Suggestions.” Studies in Comparative International Development 25(1): 25–50.Google Scholar
Giannone, Diego. 2010. “Political and Ideological Aspects in the Measurement of Democracy: The Freedom House Case.” Democratization 17(1): 68–97.Google Scholar
Girod, Desha M., Krasner, Stephen D., and Stoner-Weiss, Kathryn. 2009. “Governance and Foreign Assistance: The Imperfect Translation of Ideas into Outcomes.” In Promoting Democracy and the Rule of Law: American and European Strategies, ed. Magen, Amichai, Risse, Thomas and McFaul, Michael A.. London: Palgrave Macmillan.Google Scholar
Goldstein, Robert Justin. 1986. “The Limitations of Using Quantitative Data in Studying Human Rights Abuses.” Human Rights Quarterly 8(4): 607–27.Google Scholar
Goulet, Denis. 1974. “Freedom Does Not Exist in a Vacuum.” Worldview 17(11): 40–2.Google Scholar
Gourevitch, Peter A. and Lake, David A.. 2012. “Beyond Virtue: Evaluating and Enhancing the Credibility of Non-Governmental Organizations.” In The Credibility of Transnational NGOs: When Virtue Is Not Enough, ed. Gourevitch, Peter A., Lake, David A., and Stein, Janice Gross. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Gray, Julia. 2013. The Company States Keep: International Economic Organizations and Investor Perceptions. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.Google Scholar
Green, Brendan Rittenhouse. 2012. “Two Concepts of Liberty: U.S. Cold War Grand Strategies and the Liberal Tradition.” International Security 37(2): 9–43.Google Scholar
Green, Jessica F. 2013. Rethinking Private Authority: Agents and Entrepreneurs in Global Environmental Governance. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press.Google Scholar
Guilhot, Nicolas. 2005. The Democracy Makers: Human Rights and the Politics of Global Order. New York: Columbia University Press.Google Scholar
Gunitsky, Seva. 2015. “Competing Measures of Democracy in the Former Soviet Republics.” In Ranking the World: The Politics of International Rankings and Ratings, ed. Cooley, Alexander and Snyder, Jack. New York: Cambridge University Press.Google Scholar
Häge, Frank M. 2011. “Choice or Circumstance? Adjusting Measures of Foreign Policy Similarity for Chance Agreement.” Political Analysis 19(3): 287–305.Google Scholar
Hall, Rodney Bruce and Biersteker, Thomas J.. 2002. “The Emergence of Private Authority in the International System.” In The Emergence of Private Authority in Global Governance, ed. Bruce Hall, Rodney and Biersteker, Thomas J.. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hobson, Christopher and Kurki, Milja. 2012. “Introduction: The Conceptual Politics of Democracy Promotion.” In The Conceptual Politics of Democracy Promotion, ed. Hobson, Christopher and Kurki, Milja. London: Routledge.Google Scholar
Hurd, Ian. 1999. “Legitimacy and Authority in International Politics.” International Organization 53(2): 379–408.Google Scholar
Hyde, Susan D. 2012. “Why Believe International Election Monitors?” In The Credibility of Transnational NGOs: When Virtue Is Not Enough, ed. Gourevitch, Peter A., Lake, David A., and Stein, Janice Gross. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.Google Scholar
Kaufmann, Daniel, Kraay, Aart, and Mastruzzi, Massimo. 2010. “The Worldwide Governance Indicators: Methodology and Analytical Issues.” World Bank Policy Research Working Paper No. 5430. Washington, DC: World Bank.Google Scholar
Keck, Margaret E. and Sikkink, Kathryn. 1998. Activists beyond Borders: Advocacy Networks in International Politics. Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press.Google Scholar
Kekic, Laza. 2007. “The Economist Intelligence Unit’s Index of Democracy.” In The World in 2007. London: The Economist Intelligence Unit.Google Scholar
Kelley, Judith G. 2009. “D-Minus Elections: The Politics and Norms of International Election Observation.” International Organization 63(4): 765—87.Google Scholar
Kelley, Judith G. and Simmons, Beth A.. 2015. “Politics by Number: Indicators as Social Pressure in International Relations.” American Journal of Political Science 59(1): 55–70.Google Scholar
Klitgaard, Robert. 1994. “Do Better Polities Have Higher Economic Growth?” Working Paper No. 113. College Park, MD: Center for Institutional Reform and the Informal Sector.Google Scholar
Kurki, Milja. 2010. “Democracy and Conceptual Contestability: Reconsidering Conceptions of Democracy in Democracy Promotion.” International Studies Review 12(3): 362–86.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kurki, Milja. 2013. Democratic Futures: Revisioning Democracy Promotion. Abingdon: Routledge.Google Scholar
Kurki, Milja. 2016. “Causality, Democracy Support, and the Cult of the Factish Gods.” Journal of International Relations and Development forthcoming.Google Scholar
Lake, David A. 2010. “Rightful Rules: Authority, Order, and the Foundations of Global Governance.” International Studies Quarterly 54(3): 587–613.Google Scholar
Mainwaring, Scott, Brinks, Daniel, and Pérez-Liñán, Aníbal. 2001. “Classifying Political Regimes in Latin America.” Studies in Comparative International Development 36(1): 37–65.Google Scholar
Mattli, Walter and Büthe, Tim. 2005. “Accountability in Accounting? The Politics of Private Rule-Making in the Public Interest.” Governance 18(3): 399–429.Google Scholar
McMahon, Edward R. 2001. “Assessing USAID’s Assistance for Democratic Development: Is It Quantity versus Quality?” Evaluation 7(4): 453–67.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Mitchell, Lincoln. 2016. The Democracy Promotion Paradox. Washington, DC: Brookings Institution Press.Google Scholar
Monten, Jonathan. 2005. “The Roots of the Bush Doctrine: Power, Nationalism, and Democracy Promotion in U.S. Strategy.” International Security 29(4): 112–56.Google Scholar
Munck, Geraldo L. and Verkuilen, Jay. 2002. “Conceptualizing and Measuring Democracy.” Comparative Political Studies 35(1): 5–34.Google Scholar
Nelson, Stephen C. 2014. “Playing Favorites: How Shared Beliefs Shape the IMF’s Lending Decisions.” International Organization 68(2): 297–328.Google Scholar
Nooruddin, Irfan and Sokhey, Sarah Wilson. 2012. “Credible Certification of Child Labor Free Production.” In The Credibility of Transnational NGOs: When Virtue Is Not Enough, ed. Gourevitch, Peter A., Lake, David A., and Stein, Janice Gross. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.Google Scholar
Oren, Ido. 1995. “The Subjectivity of the ‘Democratic’ Peace: Changing U.S. Perceptions of Imperial Germany.” International Security 20(2): 147–84.Google Scholar
Pemstein, Daniel, Meserve, Stephen A., and Melton, James. 2010. “Democratic Compromise: A Latent Variable Analysis of Ten Measures of Regime Type.” Political Analysis 18(4): 426–49.Google Scholar
Quigley, Thomas E. 1974. “‘Miss Freedom’ Awards Are, At Best, Irrelevant.” Worldview 17(11): 39–40.Google Scholar
Robinson, William I. 1996. Promoting Polyarchy: Globalization, U.S. Intervention, and Hegemony. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.Google Scholar
Scoble, Harry M. and Wiseberg, Laurie S.. 1981. “Problems of Comparative Research on Human Rights.” In Global Human Rights: Public Policies, Comparative Measures, and NGO Strategies, ed. Nanda, Ved P., Scarritt, James R., and Shepherd, George W., Jr. Boulder, CO: Westview Press.Google Scholar
Sending, Ole Jacob and Neumann, Iver B.. 2006. “Governance to Governmentality: Analyzing NGOs, States, and Power.” International Studies Quarterly 50(3): 651–72.Google Scholar
Shepherd, Hana. 2011. “Great Decisions: The Organizational Basis of Foreign Policy Ideas in the Council on Foreign Relations.” Ph.D. diss., Princeton University.Google Scholar
Snider, Erin A. and Faris, David M.. 2011. “The Arab Spring: U.S. Democracy Promotion in Egypt.” Middle East Policy 18(3): 49–62.Google Scholar
Steiner, Nils D. 2016. “Comparing Freedom House Democracy Scores to Alternative Indices and Testing for Political Bias: Are U.S. Allies Rated as More Democratic by Freedom House?” Journal of Comparative Policy Analysis 18(4): 329–49.Google Scholar
Stroup, Sarah S. and Wong, Wendy H.. 2016. “The Agency and Authority of International NGOs.” Perspectives on Politics 14(1): 138–44.Google Scholar
Sussman, Leonard R. 2002. Democracy’s Advocate: The Story of Freedom House. New York: Freedom House.Google Scholar
Sussman, Leonard R. 2009. Freedom House. In Encyclopedia of Human Rights, Vol. 1, ed. Forsythe, David P.. New York: Oxford University Press.Google Scholar
Tannenwald, Nina. 1999. “The Nuclear Taboo: The United States and the Normative Basis of Nuclear Non-Use.” International Organization 53(3): 433–68.Google Scholar
U.S. State Department. 2008. “Master List of Standard Indicators.” Available at http://2001-2009.state.gov/documents/organization/115255.pdf, accessed April 3, 2017.Google Scholar
U.S. State Department. 2013. “Master Indicator List.” Available at http://www.state.gov/documents/organization/207793.pdf, accessed April 3, 2017.Google Scholar
Zürn, Michael, Binder, Martin, and Ecker-Ehrhardt, Matthias. 2012. “International Authority and Its Politicization.” International Theory 4(1): 69–106.Google Scholar