Chapter One introduces the book, which critically explores the persistent challenges of rebuilding a society fractured by war. The book interrogates the contradictions and gaps between global peacebuilding models and local realities in Côte d’Ivoire, where underlying structural inequalities, youth exclusion, and fragile institutions continue to threaten long-term peace. Across eight chapters, it examines the theoretical, political, and grassroots dimensions of post-conflict recovery, with a strong emphasis on the interplay between peacebuilding efforts and the pursuit of social cohesion. The chapter frames the Ivorian post-conflict context within broader African experiences of peace and fragility, highlighting how past injustices, marginalisation, and unresolved grievances fuel recurrent tensions. It then outlines the methodological approach underpinning the book, drawing from Key Informant Interviews (KIIs), Focus Group Discussions (FGDs), and secondary data, to capture diverse perspectives from policy actors, community leaders, and ordinary citizens. A central feature of this chapter is its theoretical engagement with the Peacebuilding Theory and the Human Needs Theory. By synthesising these frameworks, the chapter critiques the limitations of dominant liberal peace paradigms and advocates for alternative, more adaptive models. These models prioritise local agency, context-specific interventions, and the importance of addressing root causes of conflict, particularly inequality, identity-based exclusion, and weak state–citizen relations. Finally, the chapter calls for a reframing of peacebuilding in Africa, moving beyond imported templates to approaches that reflect local complexities, youth dynamics, and hybrid governance structures. In doing so, this chapter lays the conceptual and analytical groundwork for the rest of the book, which collectively aims to rethink how sustainable peace and genuine social cohesion can be achieved in Côte d’Ivoire and other post-conflict settings.