As 2024 began, pundits around the world were quick to proclaim it a “make-or-break year” for democracy. With pivotal elections scheduled in over 80 countries, impacting billions of people, the very foundations of democratic governance appeared to be at stake. Would this unprecedented flurry of electoral contests solidify the global democratic order or accelerate its decline in the face of resurgent authoritarianism, misinformation, and plutocratic influence?
Democracy Under Pressure
Leading up to the 2024 “election marathon,” democracy was undeniably on the defensive. Between 2020 and 2024, one-fifth of election results worldwide faced formal challenges, while opposition boycotts and candidate rejections of outcomes became increasingly common. Combined with generally declining participation rates, these trends raised fundamental questions about the perceived legitimacy and viability of electoral processes.
Voter Turnout Rebounds
Despite these headwinds, a funny thing happened on the way to democracy’s supposed demise in 2024 – people showed up to vote in droves. Analysis of global databases revealed that average voter turnout actually increased for the first time in nearly two decades. While the UK proved a notable outlier with record-low participation, much of the world seemingly embraced the ballot box with renewed vigor.
We’ve seen some real possibilities for hope… Democracy is alive because of citizens’ demand for compliance with the rules of the electoral game.
Rachel Beatty Riedl, Director of the Center on Global Democracy at Cornell University
People Power Prevails
Time and again, when democratic institutions and norms came under attack, it was everyday citizens who rose up in their defense. In Senegal, an incumbent’s attempt to delay elections backfired spectacularly, energizing young voters to rally behind the opposition. Bangladesh’s “Iron Lady” was forced to flee the country just months after winning a fifth term, toppled by student-led mass protests. And while Venezuela’s sham election went unchallenged at the ballot box, the ensuing popular uprising dealt a body blow to Maduro’s legitimacy.
The best response to those who challenge democracy is usually more democracy.
Cornell Center on Global Democracy 2024 Report
Tempered Expectations
Even as citizens took to the streets to defend democracy, a certain disillusionment was also setting in. Nearly half of US voters expressed doubts that their system adequately represented ordinary people, while enthusiasm for democracy as a concept waned across Africa. As one scholar put it, people may not be giving up on democracy entirely, but they increasingly question its ability to deliver tangible improvements to their lives and hold elites accountable.
Most people will say the democratic process is at least fine, but… it has done nothing to actually protect the rights and interests of ordinary people.
Vedi Hadiz, Director of the Asia Institute at the University of Melbourne
The Billionaire Factor
2024 may be remembered as the year billionaires went all-in on political kingmaking. The most blatant example was Elon Musk, who poured unimaginable sums into Trump’s campaign while leveraging his Twitter-turned-X megaphone – then saw his net worth surge by $70 billion after his candidate prevailed. From India to Indonesia to Senegal, the outsized role of ultra-wealthy individuals in electoral contests faced growing scrutiny and consternation.
Where Were the Women?
Even as voter turnout surged, women remained woefully underrepresented as candidates in high-profile races. No major party nominated a woman for the top job in bellwether contests in Indonesia, India, Pakistan, South Africa, or the UK. Globally, female parliamentary participation crept up by a meager 0.2%. Mexico stood out as a rare bright spot, as its first woman president took office backed by a legislature nearing gender parity. But at current rates, the UN warned, true equality could still be over a century away.
The Anti-Incumbent Wave
If the 2024 “election marathon” had one clear through-line, it was this: Ruling parties had a really rough go of it. Research showed that, for the first time in history, every single incumbent in the developed world who stood for re-election saw their vote share decline. From the UK to Japan to Portugal, anxious electorates punished those in power for economic woes and unmet expectations, even as ideological coherence was often lacking among their chosen replacements.
We are incredibly lucky to live in a country where decisions like this are made not by bombs or bullets. This is the magic of democracy.
Jeremy Hunt, outgoing UK Chancellor, on his Conservative Party’s historic defeat
After the ballots were counted and the campaigns packed up, where did 2024 ultimately leave democracy? Scarred, strained, yet stubbornly resilient. An ideal still worth fighting for, even as its real-world manifestations frequently fell short. A perpetual work in progress, whose faults call not for fatalism, but for the hard work of reform and renewal. As incoming US Vice President Kamala Harris reflected in her concession speech: “The fundamental principle of American democracy is that when you lose an election, you accept the results. Our struggle continues – in the voting booth, in the courts, in the public square.”
