(C) Freedom House
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Freedom House’s Global Impact in 2023 [1]

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Date: 2024-07

Thirty-seven days after it was founded, Freedom House’s initial goal was accomplished.

Beginning on October 31, 1941, the organization’s founders worked tirelessly to convince an ardently isolationist American public to support direct US involvement in World War II. Through massive public rallies and one-to-one advocacy, Eleanor Roosevelt, Wendell Willkie, Dorothy Thompson, Herbert Agar, Fiorello La Guardia, Orson Welles, and other luminaries made the case that fascism was a clear and present danger to democracy worldwide—and that it could not be defeated until the United States joined the fight.

Just over a month later, on a date that would live in infamy, Japan’s surprise attack on the US naval base at Pearl Harbor catapulted the country into another great war and transformed it into the world’s arsenal of democracy.

So, with its purpose seemingly fulfilled, why is Freedom House still here?

Because Freedom House’s mission—to expand and defend freedom worldwide—was and is far broader than any one war or political ideology. It’s a mission that has attracted many enemies: fascism, Soviet communism, repressive regimes in South America and Southeast Asia, South African apartheid, and now illiberal democracy and rising authoritarianism.

One does not have to strain to see parallels between our current geopolitical situation and the one of 82 years ago. Authoritarians are reaching across sovereign borders to topple democratically elected governments, violate human rights, and dismantle the postwar order. These threats are being met with restrained responses from the world’s most powerful democracies—including the United States—due to difficult political headwinds and resurgent isolationism.

The challenges have evolved from 1941 to 2023, but Freedom House’s vision remains constant: a world where all are free.

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[1] Url: https://freedomhouse.org/article/freedom-houses-global-impact-2023

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