After the conflict

"What have been the experiences and lessons learned from reconstruction activities which have followed wars over the past ten years? With recent events both in Afghanistan and Iraq and frequent talk of on-going conflicts, this question has preoccupied politicians, aid donors and the media as never before. "After the Conflict" draws together the main issues and arguments on the subject into a single volume emanating from the University of York's Post-war Reconstruction and Development Unit (PRDU), renowned as the world's leading research centre dedicated to the study of the aftermath of war. Examining case studies from war and post-war reconstruction scenarios around the world. This book sets out a philosophy of reconstruction that has emerged from extensive original research at PRDU. This has concluded that solutions to successful post-war reconstruction needs are to be found locally, within the communities affected by conflict and that therein lies the best hope of achieving lasting, sustainable outcomes. Solutions imposed from outside, however well-meaning the intervention, rarely take adequate account of cultural, social and economic conditions prevailing on -site, and invariabl