Will democracy survive in 2024?
Elections in America and around the world will tell us 'whether democracy lives or dies'


2024 is shaping up as a make-or-break year for democracy — both in the United States and around the world.
It's the "biggest election year in history," Politico reported. More than 60 countries will hold elections "that look set to shake up political institutions and ramp up geopolitical tensions." Donald Trump's attempt to reclaim the White House from Joe Biden tops the list, of course, but many other countries face possibly destabilizing "incumbent oustings, raucous public protests and populist movements" this year. "We will know whether democracy lives or dies by the end of 2024," said Maria Ressa, the Nobel laureate for her investigative reporting in the Phillippines.
"Democracy itself has rarely felt more vulnerable," Vox reported. Taiwan's electoral decisions could influence whether there is a war with China. The African National Congress could lose power for the first time in South Africa's post-apartheid era. Conservatives could lose power in the U.K., but Europe will probably continue to see the growth of far-right parties. Still, it's "extraordinary" that "billions of people around the world will have the opportunity to help choose their leaders."
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
That's the upside. The downside? "In the 21st century, romantic ideas of democracy are dying," Joe Mathews wrote in The San Francisco Chronicle. 2024 will be a test of democracy's resilience. "By year's end, earthlings may feel as though they've lived through one long global election."
What the commentators said
"2024 could be the year America fends off dictatorship, or invites it in," Benjamin Carter Hett argued at the Los Angeles Times. Donald Trump's vows to use a second presidential term as "retribution" for his grievances, his promise to "root out the communists" and his reported plans to invoke the Insurrection Act to send troops into American cities once he takes office make this year's election a stark choice. Surely Americans won't vote for a dictator, right? One problem: "Germans in the 1930s didn't think they were voting for a dictatorship, or another world war, or genocide."
"Hyperventilation about Donald Trump's supposedly authoritarian instincts" will dominate the American election, Joseph C. Sternberg acknowledged at The Wall Street Journal. But in the U.S. and in elections around the world, there's a bigger context: They'll represent "the first major attempts" to wrestle with the "political challenges of the post-pandemic era." It could be a bumpy ride. "Elections always have consequences, but 2024's elections may have more consequences than most."
"All in all, 2024 is not shaping up to be the year liberal democracy gets its groove back," Jonah Shepp wrote at New York. The good news is that American voters still have the "power to stop or significantly slow this runaway train" unleashed by Trump's election in 2016. It's no time to give into despair. That said: "Turning back the tide of authoritarian-friendly right-wing populism won't be easy."
What next?
It's easy to focus on American elections because the results will have ramifications around the world. Don't forget about what's going on in those countries, though. "Democracy will get a reckoning in Asia this year," Karishma Vaswani wrote at Bloomberg. Elections in Bangladesh, India, Sri Lanka, Pakistan, Indonesia and Taiwan could have significant consequences. In Asia, as in the United States, there is reason for concern. "Many voters have become disenchanted with Western democracies in a post-Brexit, post-Trump world, and are actively looking for something else."
Stability is also at stake in the African elections, Deutsche Welle reported. Protests have already broken out ahead of Senegal's February elections, Ghana's government could shift to its opposition parties, and parliamentary majorities are expected to shrink in Madagascar, Algeria and Tunisia, "making it more difficult to govern and fomenting unrest."
But if democracy's prospects seem to be shaky at the moment, Kat Duffy and Katie Harbath write at Foreign Affairs, 2024 also presents an opportunity. Advocates for democracy have their work out for them, it's true. But "if they get to work now, then 2024 may be remembered as the year when democracy rallied."
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Joel Mathis is a writer with 30 years of newspaper and online journalism experience. His work also regularly appears in National Geographic and The Kansas City Star. His awards include best online commentary at the Online News Association and (twice) at the City and Regional Magazine Association.
-
June 14 editorial cartoons
Cartoons Saturday's political cartoons include Donald's 30 dolls, a Flag Day fail and a MAGA Mayflower
-
5 jackbooted cartoons about L.A.'s anti-ICE protests
Cartoons Artists take on National Guard deployment, the failure of due process, and more
-
Some of the best music and singing holidays in 2025
The Week Recommends From singing lessons in the Peak District to two-week courses at Chetham's Piano Summer School
-
After Israel's brazen Iran attack, what's next for the region and the world?
TODAY'S BIG QUESTION Following decades of saber-rattling, Israel's aerial assault on Iranian military targets has pushed the Middle East to the brink of all-out war
-
Why Israel is attacking Iran now
The Explainer A weakened Tehran and a distracted Donald Trump have led Benjamin Netanyahu to finally act against long-standing foe
-
Trump says Putin vowed retaliation for Kyiv strike
speed read The Russian president intends to respond to Ukraine's weekend drone strikes on Moscow's warplanes
-
Why are military experts so interested in Ukraine's drone attack?
TODAY'S BIG QUESTION The Zelenskyy government's massive surprise assault on Russian airfields was a decisive tactical victory — could it also be the start of a new era in autonomous warfare?
-
Trump drops ceasefire demand after Putin call
speed read Following a phone call with Russia's president, Trump backed off an earlier demand that Putin agree to an immediate ceasefire with Ukraine
-
Israel-US 'rift': is Trump losing patience with Netanyahu?
Today's Big Question US president called for an end to Gaza war and negotiated directly with Hamas to return American hostage, amid rumours of strained relations
-
On VE Day, is Europe alone once again?
Today's Big Question Donald Trump's rebranding of commemoration as 'Victory Day for World War Two' underlines breakdown of post-war transatlantic alliance
-
US, Ukraine sign joint minerals deal
speed read The Trump administration signed a deal with Ukraine giving the US access to its mineral wealth