How this year of elections is set to reshape global politics

Elections are taking place this year in countries home to almost half of the world's population, from Taiwan's general election in January to the U.S. presidential race in November.

The votes come amid growing economic and geopolitical strife, with the Ukraine war, conflicts in the Middle East and rising trade tensions between the United States and China, the world's two largest economies.

In some countries, there are concerns about the resilience of democracy itself as political discourse has polarized or been warped by disinformation. Many of this year's elections will...