Elections have been held in around 70 countries with a total of around half of the world's population – from Asia to North America and the entire EU – during 2024.
A already turbulent political landscape was shaken up thoroughly, as voters in countries such as India, Japan, France, the UK, and the USA voted out sitting political leaders and governments.
Moreover, mass demonstrations have shaken, among others, Georgia and Mozambique, an election has been annulled in Romania, and an attempt to introduce a state of emergency has been made in South Korea.
Had Enough
The message from the voters in 2024 was clear, says Cas Mudde, political scientist at the University of Georgia: "We've had enough."
Political scientist Rob Ford at the University of Manchester likens it to long-term Covid: Voters have become unhappier due to deteriorating health, worse economy due to inflation, and global anxiety due to wars in the Middle East and Ukraine. Therefore, many wanted to kick out those who had been at the helm during this time.
An example is South Africa, where high unemployment and large socio-economic disparities earlier this year resulted in a historic election defeat for the ANC party, once led by Nelson Mandela.
Dramatic Losses
In India, Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Hindu nationalist BJP suffered a shocking defeat and lost its majority.
In the UK, voters gave the Tories the boot after 14 years of conservative rule. And in the USA, Republican Donald Trump won the presidential election – a victory that many had previously deemed impossible. That voters prioritized wallet issues has been put forward by analysts as one of the explanations.
In Europe, the successes of the far-right in, for example, France and Austria have led to shaky coalitions.
