FILE - In this Nov. 17, 1973 file picture, army tanks prepare to drive through the gates of the student-occupied Polytechnic Institute in Athens. In 1974, Greece's military regime collapsed and democracy was restored. For almost 40 years, Freedom House think tank's New York researchers have annually assessed the state of democracy and associated freedoms, classifying nations in three categories _ free, partly free or not free. Almost half the world's nations were rated not free in 1972, but by 2010 that proportion had dropped below one-quarter. (AP Photo/File)