We also tailor each of our missions or offices specifically to the needs of the country. However, the study by MacFarlane, a professor of international relations, finds the results of all the efforts from a Western perspective have been disappointing. He says it has become clear that there is significant resistance to many aspects of the Western agenda and that the politics of the region remain far short of consolidated democracy. Political parties and legislatures remain weak. Structures of power tend to be personalistic.
Judicial structures remain arbitrary and often are used for political purposes.
Human rights are frequently violated. The situation varies from country to country. At the low end is Turkmenistan, where there have been no elections judged free and fair by observers. At the other end is Georgia, which has had two sets of free elections, and where there is a diverse party structure. Still, most of the region has failed to adopt Western-style modes of governance and economic management, and is trailing far behind the Central European countries in adopting effective reforms.