Communities around the world are united by the challenges engendered by the COVID-19 threat. Local officials are at the forefront of the fight: the tone and immediacy of their response to this emergency not only define their leadership, but also directly impact the health and wellness of their citizens.

Despite the hard work of Libyan women to advance their own interests, women remain marginalized in many segments of Libyan society today, with historical gender norms and power dynamics continuing to affect their access to political participation in particular. That said, the severe political exclusion of women under Gaddafi’s rule has improved since his ouster. During the 2012 elections that established the General National Congress (GNC), women won 16.5% of seats (33 representatives out of 200).

Ensuring accountable, transparent and inclusive elections in which women are free to participate equally is a cornerstone of any democratic system. Elections offer pivotal moments to strengthen women’s political participation and change the face of politics to better reflect a country’s citizenry. While Ethiopia has taken recent strides towards gender parity in high-level government positions, these gains have not yet translated into tangible improvements for women’s security and grassroots political participation.

In the Fall of 2017, before Iraq declared victory over the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS), women from provinces occupied by the terrorist organization began working together across ethno-sectarian divides in order to help heal their country and prevent further conflict.

Although it infects indiscriminately, COVID-19’s fallout will inevitably impact people differently around the globe. Beyond immediate health risks, the pandemic’s ripple effect will compound and deepen the socio-economic challenges already faced by marginalized communities, especially in places where public officials have traditionally demonstrated an unwillingness or inability to consider their needs.    

Democracies around the world are suffering not only a public health crisis but also a governance crisis that has hindered the delivery of services and undermined social solidarity in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. More than ever, citizens need governments to restore trust in institutions by acting quickly to address public concerns.

While public attention regarding COVID-19 has been focused on the health crisis and its economic repercussions, autocrats are moving quickly to Machiavelli’s maxim -- “never waste an opportunity offered by a good crisis.” Around the world, anti-democratic leaders are using the pandemic as a means of tipping (or skipping) elections, settling scores with political adversaries and channeling public funds to personal accounts.  Authoritarian opportunists use ‘