The year 2024 has come, and it’s time for future-gazing analysis, forecasts and speculations. The year ahead holds immense potential for transformative change and significant challenges.
Climate change will remain at the forefront of global concerns in 2024. Growing awareness of the urgency to combat environmental degradation will prompt governments, businesses, and individuals to take action. The year will witness increased efforts to transition to renewable energy, sustainable practices, and the implementation of climate policies to mitigate the effects of global warming.
Rapid technological advancements will continue to shape the socioeconomic landscape in 2024. Innovations in artificial intelligence, automation, blockchain, and biotechnology will revolutionize various sectors, including healthcare, transportation, finance, and communication. Governments and industries will need to navigate the opportunities and challenges presented by these advancements. Artificial intelligence and its regulation will be a central topic of conversation, as the world continues to marvel at the technology’s progress in performing daily tasks. The question, then, is whether 2024 will bring a consensus on the need for a global governance framework and institution to help monitor, coordinate, and harmonize the regulatory processes around AI.
Geopolitical dynamics will undergo significant transformations in 2024. Rivalries between major powers, such as the United States, China, and Russia, will continue to shape global politics. Issues like territorial disputes, cybersecurity, and economic competition will influence international relations. Additionally, regional conflicts and diplomatic negotiations will shape alliances and rivalries among nations.
Democracy will be a key focus in 2024, with several countries witnessing significant political transitions. Elections and political reforms will take place in various regions, determining the course of governance and potential shifts in policies. These transitions will impact geopolitics and have implications for the global order.
Among the big issues and trends that will dominate attention in the year ahead are threats to democracy, major wars, and looming economic risks. If there is any cause for hope, it will lie in promising innovations and the possibility that the centre may yet hold in the face of increasingly destructive political movements. Further progress depends on what happens at the ballot box. There will be more than 70 elections, in which more than 4.2 billion eligible voters will be involved.
Although the world has largely moved on from COVID-19, it is still dealing with the ramifications of Russia’s war in Ukraine, as well as new wars, conflicts, and revisionist misadventures from the Middle East and the Sahel to Latin America and the South China Sea.
Africa will be forced to focus disproportionately on challenges stemming from coups, conflicts, and climate change. With the return of military brass hats in West Africa, democratic governance will remain under siege, and an insecurity-plagued Nigeria will struggle to impose order on its own territory as well as across the drought-stricken Sahel. The Horn of Africa will remain threatened by widespread displacement, drought, famine, and warlordism. Militias in eastern Congo and the Central African Republic will continue to drive massive population displacement, and flood-stricken Southern Africa’s dominant liberation parties – not least South Africa’s African National Congress – will stubbornly cling to power.
Finally, North Africa will suffer socioeconomic stagnation, as entrenched military-backed regimes in Egypt, Algeria, and Tunisia resist demands for reform. With $1.1 trillion in debt, crippling interest payments, and meddling external powers, the continent will continue its elusive quest for Pax Africana.
There is little indication that we will see an end to the current conflict in Sudan and the wars between Russia and Ukraine as well as between Israel and Hamas; nor can we discount the risk of China moving against Taiwan. If Donald Trump or another Republican wins the US presidential election in November, that could radically change some global configurations. Yet, despite Trump’s promises to end the war in Ukraine quickly, Russian President Vladimir Putin – who will almost certainly assume another six-year term in March – would be unlikely to agree to any settlement without major concessions from the other side.
When I look at my crystal ball, I see a year defined by the interplay of wars and elections. Wars in Ukraine and Gaza, along with the fear of a US-China conflict over Taiwan, will affect the outcomes of the elections in Europe and the US.
In 2024 and beyond, we will see increasing race-related violence, xenophobia and global inequality, especially between developed and developing countries. Deglobalization has brought back protectionism and industrial policy.
The texture of Western democracy will be tested this year. More than half the people on the planet live in countries that will hold nationwide elections. The seemingly unstoppable rise of more radical and populist movements will challenge centrist politics on both sides of the Atlantic. We will need new tools and organizations to protect democracy during the biggest election year in history. With more than half the world’s population eligible to vote in more than 70 elections next year, AI-generated deepfakes and misinformation could skew the results.
Indeed, 2024 will be daunting and stressful for those who care about liberal democracy.
Ballots will be cast from Britain to Bangladesh, from India to Indonesia. Yet what sounds like it should be a triumphant year for democracy will be the opposite.
2024 will be “the year of the great decisions”. In the leading countries of the West, a serious battle is being fought between the “populists” and the establishment, the main arena being, of course, America itself.
Many elections will entrench undemocratic rulers. Others will reward the corrupt and incompetent. By far the most important contest, America’s presidential election, will be so poisonous and polarising that it will cast a pall over global politics. Against a backdrop of conflict, from Ukraine to the Middle East, America’s future direction—and with it the world order American leadership has hitherto underwritten—will be on the line. It will be a nerve-racking and dangerous year.
Some elections will be obvious shams. Vladimir Putin will doubtless win a third consecutive term (and fifth overall) as Russia’s president. In Belarus or Rwanda, for instance, the only question is how close to 100% the incumbent’s vote-share will be.
Most ballots cast will be in Asia. Its biggest democracies—Bangladesh, India and Indonesia—will all go to the polls. Africa will be the continent with the most elections, but its voters are increasingly disillusioned with how democracy works. Coups are becoming more common: nine regimes have seized power by force since 2020. Polls suggest that growing numbers of Africans might be willing to go along with a military government. South Africa’s election will be a reminder of serial disappointment. Three decades after the ANC swept to power in the first post-apartheid election, it will limp to power again in a country ground down by corruption, crime and unemployment.
Mexico will elect its first female president: both leading contenders are women, and less populist than the incumbent. British voters will (at last) have a choice between two competent candidates. After 14 years of Tory rule a Labour win is likely, but few outside Britain will notice much change.
Some elections will have a disproportionate impact beyond their country’s borders. Nothing, however, will compare to America’s election, either for grim spectacle or potential consequences. It is hard to believe the most likely outcome is a rematch between two old men, both of whom the majority of voters wish were not candidates.
This year promises to be an exhilarating one for sports enthusiasts with numerous prestigious events scheduled across different sports from the grandest stages of the Olympics to the iconic tournaments in football, tennis, and more. 2024 will be defined by the display of passion, athletic prowess, intense competition, and unforgettable moments.
In August, the pinnacle of international sporting events, the Olympic Games, will take place in Paris, France. Athletes from every corner of the globe will compete in a wide array of sports, embodying the spirit of unity and friendly competition. Join the celebrations in Paris as 2024 will mark 100 years since they last hosted the event.
This year, football fans will eagerly anticipate four continental championships, the Asian Cup in Qatar, the African Cup of Nations [AFCON] in Cote d’Ivoire, Euro 2024 in Germany and Copa America in the US. The AFCON is Africa’s most prestigious football tournament, bringing together the continent’s best teams and players. Expect extraordinary skills, fierce competition, and unforgettable moments of brilliance as Nigeria’s Super Eagles challenge the likes of the Atlas Lions of Morocco, Indomitable Lions of Cameroon, Black Stars of Ghana, Pharoahs of Egypt and Desert Foxes of Algeria for the continent’s most coveted trophy.
The year 2024 equally promises to be momentous for other sports, with a plethora of significant events set to unfold. In tennis, there’s the French Open at Roland Garros, the Wimbledon Championships, the US Open – not forgetting Australian Open. And, what better way to start off the sporting year than with a visit to Melbourne for the Australian tennis open? With the retirement of many superstars of tennis in recent years, you can witness the stars of tomorrow in the first grand slam of the year. In golf, there’s the US Masters which anticipates the imminent return of Tiger Woods. These events will captivate audiences and leave lasting impressions.
