Reimagining the Post-Conflict State

To achieve peace and reconciliation, the post-conflict state must reimagine itself, changing power dynamics and incorporating new voices into the national narrative. While the literature on post-conflict states has focused on state-building, it has been largely silent when it comes to nation-building.In Reimagining the Post-Conflict State, Eric N. Budd argues that these states need to fundamentally redefine themselves-who they are and who is part of their “imagined community.” On both the macro and micro levels, this work explores whether post-conflict states have fundamentally changed-altered their power dynamics, incorporated the voices of all societal groups in the national narrative, and acknowledged the disparate memories of the past, including “inconvenient truths.” Through an in-depth exploration of the peace agreements that ended the conflicts, as well as of the nations’ constitutions and efforts at constitutional change, their educational systems, curriculum reform efforts, an