Post-conflict societies pose grave risks as regards reoccurrence and escalation of violence, in particular terrorist violence. Iraq as well as other regions provide ample evidence of this trend. The text summarizes the characteristics of post-conflict societies and identifies the challenges associated with the aftermath of large-scale violence. At the centre of such challenges we find trust and security. Trust is in short supply in post-conflict societies, as is security. In order to re-establish security and trust, a state must have a justice system to deal with atrocities of the past and an economy that replaces war-time economies and markets as well as a functioning civil society.