How to rebuild societies after wars in order to achieve sustainable peace has been a key question in the international community since the end of the Cold War. With numerous interventions to halt intrastate conflicts and prevent a return to war, international practitioners and academics alike have sought clear answers

"There are thousands of violated ladies showing up. It's like nothing we have ever seen anywhere in the world," said Jo Lusi, head of a Congolese-run hospital in the eastern city of Goma that is working with the U.S.-based aid group Doctors on Call for Service.

Building on the work of Dr Victoria Fontan and others, Muhyadin Saed challenges conventional methods of peacebuilding, with specific reference to the experiences of Somaliland. Saed proposes a human-centred, rather than institutional, approach which considers the local people to be vital assets in the design and implementation of such projects.

This paper analyses the role of Afghanistan's regional neighbours in securing it's recovery and stability, as well as the wider implications of America's strategic policies in the region. Will things fall apart or hold together in Afghanistan after December 2014?

David Ekbladh unravels the real meaning of "post-war reconstruction".