Lebanon became a less free country in 2012, according to Freedom in the World 2013, the annual report on political rights and civil liberties worldwide published by Freedom House. While Lebanon clung to its 2011 'Partly Free' status, Freedom House stated that the country's freedom indicators were starting to slip due to "deterioration in the security environment and increasing attacks and restrictions on journalists, activists, and refugees." Given the challenging year that Lebanon faced in security and accommodating the booming Syrian refugee population, this will not come as a surprise to many Lebanese. It nonetheless remains a troubling indicator of Lebanon's worrisome trajectory in a highly volatile region.

Lebanon wasn't the only Middle Eastern country that struggled to maintain its freedom ranking in 2012. Several other nations in the region also saw a downward trend in their indicators according to Freedom House. These included Jordan, Oman, Syria, and the United Arab Emirates. More substantially, however, Iraq and Kuwait both witnessed a full-point drop in their rankings on political rights.

And while the Middle East is still reeling from the often tumultuous and sometimes violent revolutions set in motion in 2011, freedom in the region wasn't entirely on retreat in 2012. Most notably, Egypt and Libya both made the historic leap in status from 'Not Free' to 'Partly Free,' according to Freedom House. Meanwhile, Tunisia hung on to the valuable gains it made in the previous year, offering hope that progress made during the outset of the Arab Spring can be consolidated and its gains solidified.

But what does this report mean for Lebanon and what's in store for the rest of the Middle East?

First, in Lebanon, insecurity is a primary contributor to the erosion of political rights and civil liberties in the Middle East. Hezbollah and the Lebanese government continue to detain both Lebanese nationals as well as incoming refugees for no clear reasons. One prime example is the unlawful detention and abuse of the Lebanese-Palestinian journalist Rami Aysha. The overpowering influx of Syrian refugees has aggravated an already delicate social fabric, in which Syrian refugees have increasingly become targets for racism and discrimination.

Second, the evidence indicates that persecution of minorities remains an endemic problem which contributes heavily to the 'freedom deficit' in the region. This has not been as big a problem in Lebanon as the region, but minorities worry that they may lose their rights as extremists start to emerge.

Finally, the Freedom House report demonstrates that the dogged and pragmatic pursuit of political rights and civil liberties, despite the incredible challenges and hurdles it entails, can lead to concrete and realizable gains in freedom. Tunisia, merely three years ago, had one of the most uninspiring freedom scores in the Middle East. But now, after its revolution and the exhausting political and parliamentary battles that have been fought in its wake, Tunisia boasts the most impressive score in the Arab world. Similarly, Egypt and Libya both faced a trying year in their fragile transitions to democracy. Nonetheless, the political battles, protests, and referendums indicate that progress in freedom is already underway and that gains are attainable.

Freedom, however, is always fragile. With that in mind, the Lebanese people would do well to remember the words often attributed to Thomas Jefferson if it hopes to stop its slide on the scales of freedom: eternal vigilance is the price of liberty. To do otherwise will only further imperil the institutions and ideas that the country fought so hard to enshrine.