The year 2024 was unique in two ways: first, elections were held in the most populous countries like India, the US, Brazil, Indonesia, Pakistan and Bangladesh; and second, regime change took place in Bangladesh and Syria. Issues like climate change, Ukrainian attacks inside Russia and the ongoing carnage in Gaza also figured notably during the year 2024.

The victory of Donald Trump in November 2024 presidential elections - despite his loss in re-election after his first term in office as well as several cases of fraud and hush money against him - is a landmark event which will not only influence the US but the world at large. When Trump will take oath on January 20, 2025, he is expected to take drastic measures ranging from curbing illegal immigration, ending the war in Ukraine and reversing the Biden administration policies in countries like Russia and Pakistan. With the US suffering from a debt of around 30 trillion dollars and other such issues, the Trump administration will have to struggle with managing a huge military expenditure of around 900 billion dollars.

For the world to transform positively in 2025, the world leadership will have to focus on the grave dangers like environment, demography, energy, food, water, etc, instead of pursuing their power ambitions. Can the Trump administration play a leadership role to effectively deal with the aforementioned challenges or it will focus on pursuing an inward approach about issues pertaining to NATO? Certainly, unlike the 2016 presidential election, this time, Trump has selected his team earlier; and since it will be his last chance in the White House, he will move faster regardless of ramifications of his policies.

The........

© The Express Tribune