Remaking the Urban: International Actors and the Post-war Reconstruction of Cities.

This article examines how international actors use urban reconstruction as a tool for intervening in postconflict societies, focusing on the spatial and symbolic dimensions of rebuilding cities after war. Through case studies of Sarajevo (Bosnia and Herzegovina) and Beirut (Lebanon), it highlights how reconstruction processes reflect enduring and emerging hegemonies of power, shaped by entanglements of local, national, and international actors. In Sarajevo, international involvement emphasized heritage restoration and identity-based projects influenced by former imperial powers and religious solidarities, while in Beirut, neoliberal urban redevelopment and geopolitical rivalries—particularly between Iran-backed Hezbollah and Saudi-supported actors—dominated reconstruction efforts. The article argues that postwar urban reconstruction not only reshapes physical space but also perpetuates conflict dynamics and imperial formations through symbolic spatial practices, with local actors both accommodating and resisting these interventionist processes.