Definitive solutions for war-torn Syria, Iraq and Libya are still on a distant horizon, but the scale and intensity of violence seem to be ebbing in 2018. The ongoing wars in the region have inflicted heavy damage on these countries’ populations, economies and physical infrastructure. Reconstruction is much more than just the physical rebuilding of what was destroyed. It is a political-economic process that has clear distributional dynamics and implications. It is likely to reflect the balance of power on the ground, coalitions of beneficiaries (and losers) and may hence contribute to stability or reconciliation, or conversely create new grievances and bases for contention.