Nations in Transit 2002 could not have been completed without the contribution of numerous Freedom House staff and consultants. This study was made possible by the generous support of the U.S. Agency for International Development and the Open Society Institute. Freedom House thanks the principal authors of the country reports: Rafis Abazov, visiting scholar, Harriman Institute, Columbia University; Wendy Betts, country director, American Bar Association Central and East European Law Initiative; Gordon Bardos, assistant director, Harriman Institute, Columbia University; Florian Bieber, senior non-resident research fellow, European Centre for Minority Issues; Scott Carlson, director of CEE programs, American Bar Association Central and East European Law Initiative; Svante Cornell, editor, Central Asia-Caucasus Analyst, and executive director, Cornell Caspian Consulting