In 2018, close to half of the world’s population will
voter for their governments.
In 2018, about 74 countries
will vote for new governments across the globe; some three billion people will
cast their vote. This decisively makes 2018 a year of great importance. It will
not just be a dance of democracy, but also a mass euphoric display of
democracy. These elections come at a time when the world is in the cusp of many
historical changes. That’s why the year needs more than a normal tracking and
scrutiny.
The countries going to vote
for new governments are spread across all continents. And each continent is
facing its own unique moment in history. Together, they will redefine global
development politics. Africa is facing the age-old question of whether democracy
would rescue it out of its decades of desperate development indicators. Africa
has the world’s highest untapped potential in all sectors. Both North and South
Americas are facing the challenge of post-disaster rehabilitation and also the
unwanted changes in usa’s policies. These countries will also need to meet the
challenge of years of economic slowdown. They will need to deal with the
development dilemma of how much natural resources need to be compromised for
economic development. Asia is at the core of the global economy debate. Oil
production from this continent will decide the global energy market. Not to
forget is the global governance challenge as to how deep democracy would
percolate in the Arab world.
On the other hand, there is an
increasing lack of confidence in electoral democracy. One can celebrate this
periodic display of democratic might. But if elected governments are not able
to live up to electors’ confidence, there will be insurmountable challenges.
Moreover, unemployment, particularly among the youth, is at its peak. Majority
of protests across countries are led by young people. Add to it the growing
tendency of anti-globalisation sentiment. Whether it is the US or the EU (read
Brexit), there is this “my-country-first” policy, which is invariably deciding
the national political discourse. Though all countries voting for new
governments have been affected by climate change, there is a sharp division
between those who are responsible and those who are victims. This fight for
equity to solve the planet’s biggest development challenge remains here. So
countries might be united in adopting one form of government—electoral
democracy—but they are today more divided than ever before on the question of a
global agenda for development.
There is no sure way to
forecast so many elections and their cumulative impacts on the global
development agenda. But in a scenario, where there is an intrinsic connect
between global and local issues, one thing is sure that elections in 2018 will
have far-reaching ramifications for the global governance regime. For example,
if Republicans win the US House of Representatives election, it would further
reinforce President Donald Trump's "America First" agenda, a
significant indicator of the anti-globalisation sentiment. This will have a
ripple effect on countries that share deep ties with the powerful global
player. The fight against climate change would also be further weakened.
Without an agreement with the planet’s historic biggest emitter of greenhouse
gases, most of the countries will be affected.
-
Richard
Mahapatra (Down to Earth)
#election
#voters_2018
K.S. Radhakrishnan
10-01-2018
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