2024 was about three P’s: power-struggle, polls, protests

2024 was a year of landmark changes which are going to impact the events unfolding in the coming year as well. In the past year, wars raged on, and genocides continued blatantly, giving the world a clear manifestation of abuse of power. However, 2024 will go down in history for the unprecedented number of deaths, protests and elections that happened this year. 

The year can be summed up in one word only: Unpredictability. Chris Lehmann from The Nation commented, “In 2024, the Pundits Are Wronger Than Ever”. As the year started, political analysts predicted that world leaders would come around to end Israel’s genocide of the Gazans or Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. On the contrary, Ukraine invaded Russia, making the conflict a full-blown war, with people from other parts of the world paying the price. (Case in point: Russia shooting down an Azerbaijan airplane in Kazakhstan region, mistaking it for a Ukranian drone).

Secondly, the genocide in Gaza reached new heights of brutality as the number of journalists killed in the besieged strip climbed astoundingly high, whereas the death toll of civilians surpassed 45 thousand in the strip.

In this year, Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi, one of the staunch supporters of anti-Israel resistant groups, died along with the foreign minister and other dignitaries on board a helicopter on their way back from a dam inauguration in Azerbaijan. It was later confirmed by the Iranian officials that the helicopter crashed because of poor weather conditions and technical issues. At Raisi's funeral, Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh was killed by Israel in a targeted attack while he was visiting Iran. This came across as the biggest blow to the movement, and while Israel did not openly acknowledge the assassination, it went on a spree to kill all opponents. Yahya Sinwar was also killed in Gaza a few weeks after taking over as the Chief of Hamas.

Expanding the scale of its war, Israel tempered pagers used by Hezbollah in Lebanon which exploded and injured thousands of people. This went on to start a full-scale war and claimed more than 3000 lives, including the life of Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrullah, followed by the death of second in command Naim Qassem. 

Even though they made a major attack on the residence of Israeli Benjamin Netanyahu and conducted strikes on Israeli territory, a ceasefire was reached with Israel on November 27, two months after the escalation started. With the ceasefire, Netanyahu aimed to shift his focus to the “annihilation” of Hamas in Gaza. As this article is being written, WHO has announced that the last major health facility in Northern Gaza, Kamal Edwan Hospital, is "out of service". 

The rage against the brutalities of Israel is building up as the Pope slammed the Zionist regime in his Christmas address by saying, "This is cruelty. This is not war.” 

Many countries around the world saw protests against their governments and administrations. People expressed their frustration through polls in some countries, while in others, they showed up for protests.

In Bangladesh, a simmering population of youth came out on the roads against Sheikh Hasina and forced her to flee the country. This Gen-Z revolution shocked the world, costing around 1000 lives.

Similarly, in Syria, the Assad regime was toppled by opposition forces, bringing much-needed relief for those held in captivity for decades yet bringing a new twist to the proxy warfare in the region.

In other countries, polls changed the game. Tired of Democrats, Americans voted for Donald Trump. The British also said no to lurking confusion and chose the Labour Party to run the country for the next five years. Dissatisfaction prevailed in other parts of Europe. French President Emmanuel Macron announced snap elections, opening the floodgate of extremist narratives and political turmoil.

Towards the end of the year, failing to gain a vote of confidence, the German government led by Olaf Scholz has also announced to go for the polls. 

In India, intoxicated by power, Bharatiya Janata Party’s Narendra Modi went in for the elections hoping to sweep it with a total of 400 seats but managed to get only 240. It still managed to form a government with the help of allies, but the public opinion sent out a clear message against the bigotry BJP had always relied on to promote its narrative. The loss at Ayodhya, where Modi inaugurated the controversial Ram Mandir, was a great setback.

In Japan, the Liberal Democratic Party, which has been clinging to power since World War II, was defeated in the elections, pushing the nation into a rare period of uncertainty. 

Another Southeast Asian nation, South Korea, witnessed the world’s shortest Martial Paw, which lasted only six hours. While it signalled deep-rooted aversion to Martial Law in the country, it also unleashed political turmoil in South Korea.

Elections in Venezuela saw infamous President Nicolás Maduro forcefully holding onto power by claiming victory in the elections while exit polls and independent observers claimed otherwise. Dozens of protestors in the South American country died while thousands were sent to prison.

The foundation of a turbulent coming year has been laid in the year gone by. With Trump in power, Netanyahu on a mission to be the sole leader of the Middle East, and Putin aiming to bring a new BRICS currency and political turmoil in many Western countries, 2025 will likely be another ride of unpredictable twists.