The Contenders: President Roh Moo-hyun, battling accusations of corruption and the dashed expectations of South Korean voters, is ineligible for a second term. Candidates from Roh’s leftist Uri Party, including party Chairman Kim Geun-tae, have struggled to distance themselves from Roh’s huge unpopularity. Enter Lee Myung-bak, a former Hyundai CEO and the previous mayor of Seoul, who will almost certainly be the candidate of the conservative Grand National Party (GNP). Other possible contenders include former GNP Chairwoman Park Geun-hye, daughter of deceased former dictator Park Chung Hee, and former Prime Minister Goh Kun, who may create his own party.

The Projected Winner: Lee

Why It Matters: North Korea’s nukes. After Kim Jong Il’s surprise nuclear test in October 2006, Roh’s “sunshine policy” of economic incentives has come under fire from a surging right. Lee and the GNP’s more hawkish stance on the North could open up doors for better relations with Washington and Tokyo, both of which have been strained under the dovish Roh.

The Contenders: The monarchy currently controls the Moroccan parliament via a governing coalition of the largest party, the Socialist Union of Popular Forces (USFP), and the traditionally anti-French Independence Party. They will vie for seats against a host of Islamist parties, including the popular Islamic Party of Justice and Development (PJD), currently the third most powerful party in the parliament.

The Projected Winner: Expect the PJD to win a plurality of seats and join the government coalition. Other Islamist parties may also make gains.

Why It Matters: Nervous Western governments are looking at Morocco as a test case for Arab democracy after the Hamas victory in the Palestinian territories and the Muslim Brotherhood’s recent success in Egypt. Make no mistake—Morocco’s King Mohammed VI will remain in charge no matter who wins. But given the current mood in the region, any free and fair elections are going to see Islamists do well. And the moderate PJD and similar Islamist parties may actually be the best way to marginalize the more extreme Islamist parties and groups.

The Contenders: Incumbent Néstor Kirchner, president since 2003, is looking for a second term. His chief opponent will be Roberto Lavagna, who until 2005 was Kirchner’s economic minister and is widely credited with crafting Argentina’s economic turn-around in recent years. One possible long-shot candidate is Cristina Fernández, Kirchner’s wife and a senator for the Peronist Party.

The Projected Winner: Kirchner

Why It Matters: A win for Kirchner is a win for Hugo Chávez, the fiery, populist president of Venezuela. Kirchner has presided over an impressive economic recovery since the financial crisis of 2001–02. Argentina’s growth has averaged nearly 9 percent during the past four years, helping Kirchner’s popularity soar to an enviable 60 percent. But Kirchner is also plagued by charges of corruption and has extremely close ties to and business partnerships with the volatile Chávez. Keeping Kirchner in power strengthens the continent’s pro-Chávez faction.

The Contenders: The ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) could see its share of the coalition government diminish if controversial issues such as soaring inflation and the government’s decision to send peacekeeping troops to Lebanon result in other parties meeting the 10 percent requirement for parliamentary representation. In the last elections, held in 2002, only the Democratic Left Party met that mark. This time, a host of others could.

The Projected Winner: Anyone’s guess.

Why It Matters: Turkey’s neighborhood has never looked more dangerous. The Kurdish insurgency is back, Iraq is teetering on the brink of civil war, Hamas and Fatah are duking it out in Palestine, Iran is ascendant, and European Union accession talks have gotten dicey over the Cyprus question. With religion sure to be a central theme in this fall’s elections, Europe will be watching closely to see if secularists can reverse the Islamic trend.

The Contenders: Interior Minister Nicolas Sarkozy, the candidate of the center-right Union pour un Mouvement Populaire (UMP) party, is squaring off against the Socialists’ Ségolène Royal. The long-shot candidate is 12-year incumbent Jacques Chirac. The 74-year-old has not ruled out another run, this time as an independent candidate.

The Projected Winner: Too close to call.

Why It Matters: It’s France. Hands down, this is the world’s most anticipated election of 2007. No incumbent government has been reelected in France since 1978. But Sarkozy could break that mold. He is distancing himself from the UMP and is taking nationalistic stands on immigration and national security that could appeal to a French public that has shown a tendency for the likes of the ultra-right Jean-Marie Le Pen in recent elections. Still, the charismatic Royal is leading by a slim 4 percentage points in polls. And she plans to bolster her foreign-policy cred this week with a trip to China, where she will meet with senior Chinese officials.