Nation-building is the construction and institutionalisation of the official national identity and heritage of a population within a nation-state. Nation-building differs from state-building, which is dedicated to the establishment of political infrastructure and the governing institutions of the state. While the two processes overlap, are mutually supportive, and interdependent to some extent, nation-building focuses primarily on the symbolic components of the nation-state and its cultural, national identity. The primary objective of this process is to foster unity in the population’s inherent diversity and build imaginings of a nation-state with which all can identify, and to which there is a subsequent sense of allegiance. In other words, nation-building is process by which a sense of national unity and cohesion is fostered within the political unit of the state. This internal national unity enables a level of stability for the state, a requirement to be considered a strong and ‘successful’ member of the international community. Consequently, nation-building is a highly important, though often overlooked, process of post-conflict reconstruction. As a process, it is complicated further in post-colonial contexts and in states recovering from intra-state, ethnic conflict where identities connect to political violence and culture and conflict resolution can be contentious. This renders the process integral not only to post-conflict reconstruction but peacebuilding efforts.