After War: Understanding Postwar Reconstruction

The aim of this working paper is to further understand the transferability of the desirable consequences of political and economic liberalism in postwar countries. A framework for understanding the reconstruction process is presented. It is argued that reconstruction efforts succeed when they achieve widespread coordination around a set of conjectures which align the aims of the reconstruction. Some of the major factors at work in the reconstruction process are then considered in the context of this framework. It is argued that many of the standard metrics are inadequate for tracking progress in postwar situations.