The world will come closer to a new order

2024 marks the 50th year of the New International Economic Order (NIEO), proposed in 1974, as an initiative driven by developing countries, primarily through the United Nations. Though it did not directly pave the way for a new world order, its aim was to restructure the global economic system to be more equitable and inclusive. 

A lot in the world has changed since then, most notably the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991. It made room for the emergence of new players in the global stage, including China, India, Brazil, Russia, Iran, and Turkey, leading to a fundamental shift in the world order.

This may come to a head in 2024, a year in which we will experience a wide range of events, particularly some world-shaking elections in countries like the US, India, EU and Russia among others. 

Also, all eyes will be on the BRICS summit in Russia in October, with the inclusion of six new member nations – Argentina, Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates – signifying the shifts in global power structures and the emergence of alternative alliances challenging traditional Western dominance.

Meanwhile, China, which had already been overtly challenging Western dominance and working to build an alternative world order with itself at the centre, is expected to launch a giant spherical structure for studying neutrinos. Such advancements in science and technology will further bolster the nation's global standing and influence.

Jannatul Naym Pieal. Illustration: TBS

The current conflict-ridden global environment may work in China's favour as well. After all, the United Nations, the World Bank, the International Monetary Fund, and other foundational organisations of the American-led global order were all born out of conflict. 

The ongoing war in Gaza could also set in motion a geopolitical reorganisation in the Greater Middle East, where nearly every major power — except Egypt, Iran and Turkey — is a 20th-century construct created by the West (especially the British and the French). 

Already, the war is strengthening the geopolitical role of gas-rich Qatar, who has consolidated its role as a key influencer in regional and global affairs. 

Closer to home, India, who successfully held the G20 Summit and announced itself as the new voice of the Global South, is also predicted to continue leading the coalition of the developing nations, and thus neutralise the unilateral assertions by more developed and powerful nations.