ABSTRACT
The past two decades have witnessed large-scale violent conflict in over 50 developing countries and territories, destroying societies and social fabric, as well as infrastructure and institutions. Most visibly, buildings are reduced to rubble, roads and bridges become impassable, and power grids are blown up. Recent examples of countries and territories which have witnessed large-scale violent conflict include Algeria, Angola, Burundi, Côte d’Ivoire, Democratic Republic of Congo, Haiti, Liberia, Nepal, Palestine, Sierra Leone, Sri Lanka, Sudan and Uganda, as well as Cassamance in Senegal and Chechnya in Russia. Although violence continues in Iraq, Afghanistan and Colombia, these are also considered “post-war”. This is in contrast with Kashmir, Somalia and Chad, where massive reconstruction efforts have yet to be launched.
