The Geopolitics of Postwar Recovery

Abstract

Postwar recovery is an elusive term. Often it is identified with words like reconstruction or nation and peace building and may be related to historical events such as the American Civil War or the Marshall Plan. Perhaps, however, the term is elusive because its distinct parts offer it a host of meanings. Post is a prefix that means after or later, war is the exertion of violence or hostility, and recovery is a restoration or return. As such, postwar recovery might be read as “after exerting violence, return later and restore hostility.” While this may be a word game, the semantics of postwar recovery, at face value, provoke some very difficult questions. At least, what is war, what is peace, and in the absence of both, what is to be recovered? In the past, recovery has encompassed almost every level of society, from institutions and government to economies, industry, infrastructure, and housing. At its best, recovery has embodied aspirations for future peace; at its worst, it has remained the harsh reality of sifting through ashes to find what is left. As part of the geographic study of war and peace, this introduction to the field of postwar recovery presents a brief history of its modern development by emphasizing the intersections of territorial sovereignty, international intervention, and subnational spaces. The chapter concludes by discussing its application in the field from the perspective of international practitioners. Part of the analysis reflects calls for further study on issues relevant to both geography and postwar recovery such as the impact of Non-Governmental Organizations on the “front lines” of geopolitics or issues of migration, a major propellant of which is violent conflict. Suggesting potentials for synthesis of postwar recovery and geography, the analysis alludes to different scales of recovery and through a case study of northern Afghanistan presents regional elements of postwar environments and their impact on field level recovery. The history of postwar recovery parallels that of political geography and has seen the task of civilians to restore, with limited assistance, what was lost in war become a multibillion-dollar industry infused with state responsibilities, international intervention, and structured civilian participation.