Libya is poised to hold its first presidential elections in the post-Gaddafi era. This was supposed to be the culmination of a year long peace process. However, there is mounting doubt that these elections will be held on time, amid a brewing political crisis that could lead to a return to armed conflict.   Podcast guest Mary Fitzgerald is a longtime Libya analyst and non-resident scholar at the Middle East Institute. She explains why these elections are so fraught with peril and what the international community can do to reduce the prospects of a return to civil war in Libya.   

The Boko Haram insurgency is intensifying precisely as Nigerians prepare to go the polls in hotly contested elections. Earlier this month, the group pulled off their deadliest attack to date (though the media was consumed by the Charlie Hebdo attacks). So why is Boko Haram stepping up their attacks now? What effect might it have on the prospects of another term in office for President Goodluck Jonathan? What can the international community do to help beat back this insurgency? And what are the other big campaign issues on the table in Africa's largest democracy?  Alexander Thurston of Georgetown University answers these questions and more.