An analysis of the different roles that men and women can play as a conflict unfolds offers new perspectives to help understand wars and restore peace in post-war societies. Sustainable peace building requires, among other things, contravening the behavioral logic of violent actors and preventing reestablishment of the old discordant social order. The importance of innovative interventions is illustrated by the frequent occurrence of gender-specific violence and HIV/AIDS. Also the great propensity of ex-combatants to violence and the reintegration problems of former female combatants work against attempts to develop post-war societies. Therefore, care must be taken that violent warlike activity and the related ideas of masculinity and femininity are not simply carried over into postwar daily life.