In this brief we aim to summarise some of the typical development challenges faced by a countries in a post conflict situations, where we argue that the “rush� towards development can create a number of problems. These however can be avoided, and we spell out some of the key elements to be considered. The brief is based on experience of IDAS advisors, and is particularly relevant for countries and regions such as Somaliland, Puntland, Liberia, South Sudan as well as other regions facing a similar context.