2024, The Year Of Elections, Wars, And Political Upheavals
2024 has been an exhausting roller coaster ride. Without a second take, the year can be called the mother of all elections, as it witnessed more than 50 countries across the globe race to poll. Right-wingers were given dramatic entries, and the autocracies are going all buddy-buddy, not even bothering to deny it anymore. The ones who managed to hold on to their chair are tiptoeing across their own political landscape. Learning from 2024, backbreaking blows are expected anytime, anywhere. From autocratic regimes, spiralling political turmoil, and dramatic tactical fiascos, 2024 just showed that the world is going bloody barmy. It was fast and extremely furious.
Chaos Reign In Bangladesh
Student protests in Bangladesh.
Bangladesh was the first country to conduct a general election in 2024. Sheikh Hasina won, only to be toppled and flee the country under dramatic circumstances. What started as a mere student protest against government job quotas spread lightning fast, transforming into a full-on angry mob charging towards Hasina’s residence. More than four months after Hasina fled, the population is still blazing with rage, and chaos reigns in the country. Apparently, it might take a while for the high heads in authority to get a proper handle on the situations.
Trump Stole The Year
The iconic moment captured after the first assassination attempt on Donald Trump.
2024 was the year for Donald Trump, who had the greatest comeback of his life. Surviving an assassination attempt (which suspiciously appeared staged), and flicking all the 34 felony convictions as a mere dirt on his coat, he wrote history. The Republican will be strutting to the Oval Office with tech giant Elon Musk on his heels (or it’s the other way, as one might argue). Despite all the exaggerated claims laced in lies oftentimes, Trump thwarted Democrat Kamala Harris. The Democrats have yet to learn how Trump’s campaign worked.
Trump’s rhetoric, focusing on anti-climate and anti-migrant policies, set the tone right for him. The world is eager to know what Trump is going to do now. Dust started to unsettle already. His choice for his new cabinet paints the picture clear on what is to come.
Sudan’s Never-Ending Civil War
A glimpse from the Sudanese civil war.
The Sudanese civil war rages on unabated. Started in April 2023, it continued to consume 2024 with atrocities amounting to war crimes. The Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF), led by Gen. Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, locked horns with the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) militia, led by Mohamed Hamdan “Hemedti” Dagalo. The two, who jointly seized power in 2021, fall apart. As the tug of brutal war goes on with the two groups, Sudanese people face hell. While the exact death toll is unknown, some estimates showed the figure to be 20,000, while others argued it to be some 60,000. The number is feared to be higher considering war-related disease and starvation.
Over 11 million of the total 50 million Sudanese were said to have been displaced. Girls and women suffered the most, as they were subjected to gang rape and sexual violence at alarming rates. The attack was so severe that mothers willingly sold their dignity to protect their daughters’, or they committed suicide. The rape victims ranged from eight years old to 75 years old, as per the United Nations Fact Finding Mission for Sudan.
Pakistan Politics Of Foul Play
Former Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan.
After two years of political turmoil, the country went for a general election. To put it short, the election was a foul play dipped in manipulation. Former Prime Minister Imran Khan was sentenced to jail in August 2023. Another former prime minister, Nawaz Sharif, returned from four years of exile in London and was backed by the military, which had earlier aligned with Khan. A week before the election, Khan was sentenced to decades in prison on three separate charges, which include leaking state secrets and unlawful marriage.
The country’s Supreme Court also took away Khan’s party, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), its election symbol in January 2024. Neither the party’s name nor its symbol (a cricket bat, highlighting Khan’s past as the leading captain of Pakistan’s cricket team) was on ballots. All of the party members had to run independently. Election symbols are important for elections, as the country’s 40 percent population is reported to be illiterate. PTI faces an intense crackdown, as thousands of its members were jailed, and senior leadership were forced to resign.
Also Read: Pakistan Issues Arrest Warrant Against Imran Khan Over Violent Islamabad Protest
The election result was another surprise. Though not the absolute majority, candidates from Khan’s party, who were forced to run independently, won 93 seats out of the 266 seats. The party claimed that it would have won more seats were it not interfered with by the authorities. Pakistan’s two grand old parties, Sharif’s PML-N and the Bhutto family’s Pakistan People’s Party (PPP), came in second and third place, with 75 and 54 legislative seats, respectively. The two then joined hands once again to form a coalition government.
PTI continued to conduct a protest march upon the words of their leader, Imran Khan. The protest often ended up in violence, with the last one turning deadly, and a number of deaths were reported.
1000 Days Of Russia-Ukraine War
War-torn Ukraine.
By 2024, the war entered its third year. As Ukraine suffered at the hands of Russia, the US’ approval of long-range missiles in November underscored the international involvement in the war. Moscow and Kyiv continued their tit-for-tat tactics. At the same time, upon the US’s approval of long-range missiles to Kyiv, Russia loosened its doctrine to use nukes. Russian President Vladimir Putin said that Moscow would use all weapons at its disposal against Ukraine if it were to acquire nuclear arms.
The new doctrine would allow Russia to use nuclear weapons even in response to a conventional attack against the country. Reportedly, Russia’s new ally, North Korea, came forward aiding in the war by sending some 10,000 troops to fight Ukraine. Reports also suggest hundreds of North Korean soldiers died during the war so far.
South Korea’s Strategic Leap To Failure
South Korea, which has kept quiet for most of 2024, made a commotion in early December. President Yoon Suk Yeol pulled a martial law stunt, which lasted for mere hours. He declared the decree accusing the opposition party of anti-state activities. Six hours into the announcement, the National Assembly successfully managed to vote against it. The move eventually led to Yoon’s impeachment, and Prime Minister Han Duck-soo assumed presidential powers. The President’s impeachment raised questions about the stability of South Korea’s government and its future.
France’s Tactical Disasters
President Emmanuel Macron.
2024 had France melting. The political landscape has become extremely fragile. President Emmanuel Macron decided to dissolve the National Assembly, the French Parliament, hoping to rectify the disastrous failure of his party in the European Parliament election. Unfortunately, the election gamble did not go well for Macron and has backfired. It ended up in a hung parliament, and the National Assembly was divided between three politically incompatible factions: Marine Le Pen’s RN, Macron’s centrist Renaissance party, and a tactical coalition between the left and the far left.
Also Read: French Government Toppled: Here Is What To Know
Macron went on and appointed the centre-right Michel Barnier, hoping to get over with the austerity budget to cope with Paris’ growing fiscal deficit. Barnier could not garner enough parliamentary support for his budget. This led to the far left and the far right teaming up to bring him down. He lost the confidence vote and stepped down. Macron then appointed one of his earliest political allies, centrist François Bayrou, as the new prime minister. Whether Bayrou can pull off what Barnier could not is something to wait and watch.
Syria’s Liberation
Syria’s de facto leader Ahmed al-Sharaa.
The major highlight of 2024 has to be the “liberation” of Syria. After nearly 60 years of the Assad regime, the country was freed from civil war and a deadlock by the opposition rebel organisation Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS). The group came up unannounced and captured key cities of Syria, including Damascus, Aleppo, Hama, and Homs, with little to no resistance from President Bashar al-Assad’s military. He then fled to Russia, forming an end to 24 years of brutal crackdown. Syrians celebrated the freedom. With Assad’s downfall, his notorious prisons were freed. The infamous Sednaya, also known as the “human slaughterhouse,” revealed shocking details of utmost atrocities and inhumane tortures.
Also Read: “Damascus Has Been Liberated”; Syrians Gather At Lebanon Border To Return Home
Keep in mind the organisation in power, HTS, and its leader, Ahmed al-Sharaa, also known as Abu Mohammed al-Julani, was once affiliated with al-Qaeda. The group itself was labelled as a terrorist organisation, and a $10 million bounty was offered for the capturing of al-Sharaa. After seizing power in Syria, the US withdrew the reward, and other countries are on their way to recognising the government. What a way to turn the tables!
West Asia: The Epicentre Of Bloodbath
One of the many photos of the devastation in Gaza.
Happenings in West Asia are a whole different league. 2024 has been an absolute bloodbath. It appears that the October 7, 2023, Hamas attack on Israel was a herculean blow, and its tremors are still reverberating. Israel’s pride was wounded so deeply that the revenge appears to become insatiable. Apart from taking the rage out on the civilians of Palestine—both Gaza and the West Bank—Tel Aviv attacked Lebanon and Iran as well.
Iran and its axis of resistance group Hezbollah in Lebanon traded fires with Israel since the beginning of the Israel-Hamas war in 2023. The Israeli army faces a huge blow on the ground from Hezbollah, with the military trying to cover up through aerial attack (as usual). Iran and Israel are on a fragile thread. Attacks can continue at any moment. Tehran even bombed Netanyahu’s residential building. Israel has reached a fragile ceasefire deal with Lebanon but has violated it numerous times.
Also Read: “This Is Genocide”: Amnesty Accuses Israel On Its War In Gaza
Israel also assassinated Hamas political chief Ismail Haniyeh and Hezbollah commander Fuad Shukur within the span of a week. Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah was also assassinated by Israel. Tel Aviv also killed Hamas chief Yahya Sinwar. The Hamas chief was the arch enemy of Israel and its close ally, the US. Sinwar was killed accidentally by junior soldiers. Israel accidentally made Sinwar an icon of resistance instead of degrading his image by releasing his last moments, in which he was seen throwing a stick at the IOF drone while taking his last breath.
Also Read: Writer, Fighter, Leader: Yahya Sinwar, “The Most Dangerous Man In The World”
The International Court of Justice has also issued arrest warrant against Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, and former Defence Minsiter Yoav Gallant for committing war crimes in Gaza. Hamas’ leader, Muhammed Deif, is also on the list. Despite all the pummeling of civilians and civilian infrastructure to bloodied ashes, Tel Aviv could not achieve its ultimate goal, destroying Hamas and taking back the hostages.
The ‘Quartet Of Chaos’
2024 witnessed the cosying up of four major autocracies of the world. China, Russia, Iran, and North Korea have been lending hands to one another and were called the ‘axis of autocracies,’ among other names. While the countries have not reached the level of becoming allies, the possibility holds a ray of hope. Relations between the four appear to deepen through the year.
Reportedly, Iran has sold thousands of drones to Russia. North Korea provided thousands of artillery pieces and troops to Moscow. China helped the country in rebuilding its defence industrial base. Russian President Vladimir Putin and North Korean President Kim Jong Un signed a comprehensive strategic partnership treaty. China and Russia scaled up their joint military exercises. In return, Moscow has provided highly sensitive military, space, and surveillance technology to all three.
Also Read: North Korea Ratifies Mutual Defence Treaty With Russia
While the fact that all four have conflicting interests and share no vision for the world each want to create, the question looms large if the current teaming up is a temporary marriage of convenience or if they are in for a long geopolitical ride. However, all four have one enemy in common. US. The ‘axis of upheaval’ might agree that they want to tone down US dominance in world affairs.
