The World Is Watching U.S. Elections. Here's What Americans Should Be Watching.

2024 is a high-stakes year for democracy ― and we’re not just talking about the United States. It’s possible that over 4 billion people among dozens of countries could have the chance to cast a vote this year. Whether all those elections are free and fair is a different question.

“We’re very concerned about the quality of democracy around the world. There’s been a number of countries where things are moving not in the right direction, including in the U.S.,” David Carroll, director of the Carter Center’s Democracy Program, which oversees election monitoring around the world, told HuffPost.

While many people around the world are paying close attention to a possible rematch between President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump, HuffPost spoke to experts to learn more about the world elections that Americans should keep an eye on. The list is long, but here are 11 electionsto get you started.

Taiwan — Jan. 13

The Taiwanese people went to the polls Saturday for presidential and legislative elections that will be closely watched by both the U.S., one of Taiwan’s biggest supporters on the world stage, and China, which poses a threat but is also the self-governing island’s largest trading partner.

“The biggest irritant in U.S.-China relations across the decades has been Taiwan,” saidAndrew Scobell, a distinguished fellow with the China program at the U.S. Institute of Peace. “And in essence, Taiwan is ground zero in U.S.-China competition, the most likely location and spark of a possible conflict between between the U.S. and China.”

Chinese President Xi Jinping late last month called Taiwan’s reunification with China “an inevitable course of development” that is popular with the people.

Tensions appeared to be high