France and its Paris Olympics, Donald Trump, and Yemeni mountain separatists were not the only or biggest winners in 2024. Emphatic victories and losses marked a year that will shape the international landscape for decades to come. Here are our assessments of some of the big winners.

The first fissures of the second Trump administration have begun to open on immigration. With such figures as Elon Musk and Steve Bannon taking opposite sides of the debate, and pushing their agendas, the first year is poised to offer a rocky start for the administration. 

Chinese organised crime in Southeast Asia thrives on fraud, drug and human trafficking and technological exploitation, with Myanmar serving as a key hub. Despite crackdown, these operations persist, necessitating urgent regional and international intervention.

This week in Australian foreign affairs: Albanese and Wong welcome ceasefire agreement in Gaza; Marles to visit to Kiribati and Solomon Islands; additional support for Vanuatu earthquake recovery, and more.

The Australian government has lost the trust of the Australian people, and the social contract has begun to break down. Australia needs a new plan to get it back on track, but can the Labor Party deliver on what will be a difficult and challenging program? 

Disinformation threatens Australian democratic processes. The failure of the proposed Disinformation and Misinformation bill highlights the urgent need for balanced regulation ahead of the 2025 elections.

For the majority of Austrians, voting for the far-right Freedom Party (FPÖ)—known for its numerous scandals and close ties to (Neo-) National Socialism—used to be socially unacceptable; moreover, its supporters were overwhelmingly male. The last parliamentary election demonstrates that this is not the case anymore.

The US bid to confront China will further deteriorate Sino-US political relations, making arms control all the more difficult. Understanding how Chinese leaders frame the issue, while toning down the rhetoric, is likely to go further toward developing mutual security in arms control negotiations. 

Australia is debating how best to harness artificial intelligence (AI) for economic growth, especially to boost its long-sluggish productivity. In their latest book, Power and Progress: Our Thousand-Year Struggle Over Technology and Prosperity, 2024 Nobel laureates in economics Daron Acemoglu and Simon Johnson challenge the notion that technology inevitably drives social welfare, contending that strong institutions and deliberate policy directions are just as important in shaping equitable outcomes. 

Jimmy Carter, a Democrat, was the 39th president of the United States. His period in office is bookended by the political carnage of mid 1970s America, left by the earlier Richard Nixon and Gerald Ford presidencies, and the Hollywood style of Ronald Reagan from 1981. Carter’s term is largely overlooked and often derided, yet he had some important success.