by Radu Magdin

In 2024, about half of the world’s adult population (4.2 billion people) will cast a vote. In 65 countries, the citizens will participate in this electoral ritual, which is meant to renew our faith in the democratic process. As some have called it, 2024 is the year of the vote. However, the discussion around this electoral overdose is not infused with hope and optimism, but rather with apprehension. Democracy is at stake in the 2024 US election, a Chatham House analysis states, encapsulating the angst that has come to define our key political moments.

Perhaps this approach to the 2024 elections is not wrong. The recent Dutch elections demonstrated that things can go wrong and how the populists can win a plurality of votes and have the chance to govern and implement their exclusionary (to say the least!) policies. To be honest, never since the end of the Cold War has liberal democracy been more contested. One cannot deny the facts. However, we, as believers in the liberal democratic norms, have agency and a choice to make: either we give up and hope for the best or we try to redefine the situation in our favor.

The malicious use of Artificial Intelligence and technology, culture wars, disinformation, and even cyberattacks will be on the menu in this year’s elections. We should not assume that illiberal forces will become complacent. We can expect the worst in this super-electoral year. The key question is how to act and react. My argument, as a strategic communication specialist, is straightforward. In addition to the classical art of great campaigning, we should invest in better preparation, so that we can get a better sense of what is coming against us, and emphasize more sense, sensibility, and simplicity in our communication. Easy to say and hard to do, but let’s give it a try.

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