As per tradition, the review of the past year has begun. The achievements and shortcomings of the year are being seen. What did the year 2024 give and what did it take away before it was lost in the abyss of time? Why will the world's history remember the year 2024, this question is also being discussed.
2024 was called the year of elections. There were very few years in world history like 2024, when most of the world's people voted. Roughly, almost half of the world's total population of 800 crore(more than 350 crore people) were supposed to participate in the elections in 2024. It was said that these voters would choose their preferred leader, head of state or head of government, and governance system. Therefore, 2024 was called the most important year in the history of elections around the world.
The International Foundation for Electoral Systems (IFES) had stated that elections will be held in more than 70 countries around the world in 2024. And according to the Time magazine report, the combined population of the countries where elections will be held in 2024 is about 49 percent of the world's total population. From India to Russia, Indonesia to the United States, Bangladesh to South Africa, Taiwan to Portugal—elections have been held this year. But whether these elections have guaranteed democracy is a big question.
In most cases, it has been seen that the elections were a mere formality. The ruling elite returned to power through the farce of the vote. Voters were not empowered. The elections were not transparent and fair. As a result, these elections did not gain legitimacy and could not strengthen democracy. Instead, there were movements and struggles in countries over electoral irregularities. Many rulers have been swept away by the tide of public protests and protests. Bangladesh is one of them.
Instead of the return of democracy in the election year, more conflicts have occurred in countries where there was conflict. The fire in Syria, Myanmar, and Afghanistan has not been extinguished. Peace has not come to the Middle East. The Israeli genocide has not stopped at all. Occupying Israel has been killing Palestinians every day and shedding blood. Instability was rampant in Iran. Instability in Yemen and Iraq did not end. The ongoing Russia-Ukraine war has not ended. Tensions have prevailed between China and Western powers in Southeast Asia. Extremism and religious sectarianism have tried to take over democracy in South Asia. The level of minority oppression in India was horrific. Covert military intervention continued in Pakistani politics.
As a result, the election year cannot be said to have passed the practical test successfully. It was an election year because there were many more elections this year. But instead of contributing to the development and strengthening of democracy, the elections were hijacked by authoritarians. In addition to the dangers to the candidates, the moments of citizens' voting were attacked and democratic institutions were endangered, which created a crisis of confidence in elections and democracy. In many cases, violence has been instigated and the governance and electoral system has been subjected to acts that are contrary to basic democratic values. As a result, the question has also been raised as to whether democracy has survived or was in the "election year" of 2024? Such a question was not inconsistent or unusual, but was largely correct. However, answering these questions and showing the way out of the problems related to elections and democracy will not be possible for 2024 to walk on the path of farewell. It will probably be possible in the coming 2025 and in the years to come. For this reason, 2025 will have to be largely busy with the work of re-establishing democratic systems in the countries of the world. In 2024, the world as a whole is going through a situation of great disorientation, where there is uncertainty and fear because, the world has had to face intense turmoil and unprecedented conflicts in the field of geopolitics from time to time. The year 2024 created such a complex situation when the dark clouds of economic crisis and trade war have gathered over the whole world. The global pandemic Covid situation has overcome the pressure of the world's financial recession and the struggle of the powerful for financial dominance has taken over. The conflict between China and the US to capture the global market has not stopped at all. In fact, these two superpowers have participated in a shadow war in many parts of the world and have spread many conflicts. Among them were incidents of inciting ethnic, communal, and religious conflicts. There was an attempt to seize resources and dominate strategic locations which was manifested in the ongoing civil war in Myanmar and the refugee problems and security risks in other neighboring countries of South Asia. In 2024, it was strongly felt that the process of environmental degradation and depletion of natural resources is progressing at an alarming pace. The world has changed in many ways in the past year. Every day this year, some part of the world has experienced extreme weather events, setting and breaking records for heat waves and cold snaps; communities that are already vulnerable have been left devastated by the constant onslaught of disasters.
Many of the world's major cities have been affected environmentally, particularly due to misguided and distorted urbanization. The three major cities in South Asia have been the most at risk: Dhaka, Delhi, and Lahore. They have consistently been ranked as the world's most dangerous cities in terms of air quality. These ancient cities are facing very difficult living conditions, where pollution has spread to many diseases. At the same time, Along with this, carbon and other chemical wastes from developed countries have increased the pollution of the world. Moreover, due to lack of resources in the underdeveloped world, rivers, mountains, and forests have been cut down at an unceasing pace. In 2024, the consequences of such serious indifference to nature and the environment may cause extreme suffering to the world in the coming years.
When writing the 2024 year, there is no way to forget one thing. Because, there will be no question of ignoring this year's surprise Artificial Intelligence (AI) or artificial intelligence. 2024 established it. AI is now creative - generative; it will create pictures, videos, songs, writings, conversations like the one it is instructed to. This has brought a lot of benefits in the workplace. Artificial intelligence will instantly extract the essence of 5-10 pages from a five hundred page book; it will tell you the essence of any extensive debate. It will verify the veracity of the information.
However, AI's analysis may not be impartial either. It depends on the kind of training given to that AI model. There is also the danger of using AI for negative and harmful purposes instead of positive ones. Moreover, the impact of this battle between human intelligence and competence and artificial intelligence on the history of civilization cannot be left out of consideration. We also have to think about whether any unseen danger will come to the future of humanity as a result of hyper-mechanization. Overall, the year 2024 can be called a transitional period or a year of complexity. The major consideration is where democracy, geopolitical situation, world peace, environment and technology go after the transitional stage of the year. If those trends are positive, then it is good. If they are negative and harmful, then the world and its people will face many dangers. As a result, the 2024 review urges the world to move forward on a more thoughtful and deliberate path in the coming year 2025, in the need for democratic institutionality, financial and political stability, environmental balance and welfare-oriented technological development.
Dr. Mahfuz Parvez: Associate Editor, Barta24.com; Professor and Chairman, Department of Political Science, University of Chittagong and Executive Director, Chittagong Center for Regional Studies, Bangladesh (CCRSBD).
