The field of distributed algorithms is moving towards the development of more robust and efficient consensus protocols, with a focus on handling disturbances, asymmetry, and non-uniformity in networked systems. Researchers are exploring new frameworks, such as pseudo-undirected graphs, to achieve consensus values that lie outside the convex hull of the initial state set. Additionally, there is a growing interest in designing algorithms that can handle content-oblivious asynchronous message-passing systems and provide sharp, local, and efficiently checkable criteria for global convergence. Noteworthy papers include:

• One paper presents a non-uniform algorithm for leader election on ring networks with a message complexity of O(n * U * ID_min), where U is an upper bound on the ring size and ID_min is the smallest identifier in the system.
• Another paper introduces a theoretical framework for achieving consensus over pseudo-undirected path graphs, which allows for negative edge weights and enables the system to achieve a stable consensus value outside the convex hull of the initial state set.