Freedom House

Freedom House, founded in 1941, is a nongovernmental organization that reports on the status of freedom around the world and advocates for civil liberties, political freedom, and democratic change. This entry describes the group’s goals, history, and methodology in rating countries on the extent to which they recognize political freedom. It then looks at criticisms Freedom House has made of the corporate world, as well as charges of bias made against it.

Freedom House was established in 1941 as a group advocating U.S. involvement in World War II in opposition to Nazi totalitarianism. Following [Page 1509]the war, its focus broadened to include freedom around the globe, as well as human rights and civil liberties in the United States, and the group endorsed policies and institutions that ...