Asklemmy

If cabbage will grow there: grow a bunch and make a really dope national dish out of it. I then create a network of people in every other country in the world and brutally enforce the secrecy of the recipe.

The entire world craves the cabbage dish. We have the cabbage dish and will kill you for making it.

I am eventually accused of high cabbage crimes by American sympathizers inside my ranks and deposed.

America takes over and immediately attempts to monetize the cabbage dish with tourism.

Capitalists cut costs far enough that the dish is no longer fire. People bore of it. America pulls out of the country citing mission accomplished.

If the country can’t grow cabbage: I wouldn’t have invaded it.

Occupy and commit war crimes in the name of "nation building." Do this until political winds change at home and force us to pull out.

What was the question, again?

Occupy it, commit war crimes, take its oil, then leave when it's politically/financially advantageous.

/s

Invoke emergency legislation to gain more power and dissolve the government. Then, become the new de facto dictator.

Just fucking leave, but tell them no dictatorships this time or I'll come back and fuck them up again.

"Just like, you know, behave and whatnot, or we'll invade again. K, byeeeee!"

-President Fartswithanaccent

Since I'd firmly oppose such a war, I'm going to assume I was elected in a backlash against it.

So I'll just exit immediately, and instead make an agreement with another, non-invading, democratic country to help with rebuilding (using my country's money). I'll sign international treaties admitting the criminal nature of the invasion, pledge reparation, and agree never to do it again. Then start speed-signing disarmament treaties.

I assume I myself would get ousted at some point in this process though.

ITT: people that didn’t read the question properly and don’t understand it’s about a second country, and not your own.

I've played Rebel Inc, so I know how to do it.

Don't bribe too many people. Build infrastructure and social programmes. Train local forces to destroy all insurrections.

In my experience it takes more funding than you have to keep the population at ease.

nuke it until there is no one left and the radiation turn it into a de facto natural reserve like Chernobyl

Wipe out the entire human population everywhere in the country, fence off the entire border and re-wild the land. Build a castle on top of the highest point of the new forest. Reconnect with nature. In the daytime, watch the clouds float across the sky like nature's ships on an endless ocean. At night, watch and track the moon and the stars. Occasionally remark on how the world is much nicer now that we are the only humans left on the land. Open it up to tourism and rake in billions from fat, selfish Americans taking selfies at the ruins. Lie to the whole world and tell them the population's corrupt government killed them off and lament on our failure to save them.

🤷 You want us to commit genocide, so genocide you will get. Nation building is genocide.

Nation building is, apparently, difficult.

After watching it go wrong repeatedly, I think we need to professionalize the process.

I would start by putting a dedicated person in charge about 3 years before the invasion.

Day 1 is establish food, water, and safety. Flood the country with trained police (not soldiers). Deliver food and water to each individual (to prevent local warlords from taking it.) Take down dangerous buildings.

Day 2 would be housing and medical care. Build simple, but safe housing. Expect people will love in it for 50 years. Build and staff medical clinics and hospitals.

Day 3 remove rubble from roads.

Day 4 build prison and court systems. There will be some very bad people that need to be removed from society. Put them on public trial, but not show trials. Everyone will be watching, so don't fuck this up.

Day 10 or so, start schools for educating the children. Teach adults to read, write, and basic math. Educate with an open hand, few will trust the government at the start. These can start as glorified day cares, so adults can focus on fixing things.

Often, dictatorships split the population into groups to keep them from working together. A truth and reconciliation group will be needed, similar to in South Africa.

After it seems there will be no genocide, then fix the transportation system to allow easy and free movement of the people and goods.

Adjust plans for local conditions.

Do not put locals in charge until after things stabilize and they have been investigated.

Do not allow anyone connected to the dictator to run things. This includes their cleaning lady and caterer.

Get the local economy back to working. Very slowly reduce outside support for things that can be made locally after ensuring there is a local supply by the government buying the final needed amount. (Consume locally or export.)

Investigate and prosecute corruption.

After a couple months, setup free and fair elections at the local level. As things go well, expand to the next higher level of government. Keep the expansion slow (like every 10 years). This allows those not affiliated with the director to build skills and learn to not be corrupt. This will help locals express their needs and coordinate.

In 30 or 40 years, of all goes well, pull out and let them self govern. Invite them to join your country with unrestricted movement of people (so you better have done a good job.)

To crush your enemies, see them driven before you, and to hear the lamentations of their women.

Depends...

Is it a country that doesn't pose any danger to my country like for example Haiti/Afghanistan? Just leave immediately. Why would I be there in the first place?

Is it a country that does present some danger? Obliterate their military and leave. Let them figure it out. If they try rebuilding their military obliterate it again.

Military parade in my capital. Compel my legislature to grant me lifetime tenure as First Citizen. Annex the country. No exit strategy.

Peace in our time.

You're the president of a democracy and your army just deposed a dictator with a war. What's your plan to rebuild that country, and what's your exit strategy?

1. Exit Strategy: None. Why would we exit?
2. Rebuild: annex the country that lost as a subdivision of my winning country (e.g. like a USA state or whatever the fuck Wales's relationship to the UK is). Treat said subdivision like any other when it comes to dealing with problems.