As the COVID-19 pandemic continues to unfold, its implications for good governance and democracy around the world are of increasing concern. And just as underlying conditions and exposure matter a lot for individual health, those factors are also critical measures of national vulnerability.
Poverty, inadequate public health infrastructure, citizen mistrust, and violent conflict are among the underlying conditions that make countries more susceptible to the pandemic’s ravages. Whereas vulnerable individuals might limit their exposure to prevent illness, though, states should embrace it. They need to expose their efforts to fight the disease to more light. Their success will be measured by their ability to galvanize political will, to demonstrate transparency in the collection and sharing of data, and to avoid politicizing the crisis for domestic or international advantage.
