The post-9/11 global war on terror reshaped the dynamics of post-conflict reconstruction with serious implications on the affected populations. The paper discusses the political ramifications in the process of rebuilding - physically and socially - war-torn societies and explores the roles of state and civil society actors in such process. It examines the case of the Palestinian refugee Camp of Nahr el-Barid in Lebanon that was destroyed in summer 2007 as result of clashes between the Lebanese Army and the Fateh El-Islam militant group, an Islamist group that found refuge in the Camp. The paper analyzes the discourses and practices of various actors - international, national and local; state and non-state - involved in re-building Nahr el-Barid. The paper looks into how each of these actors conceives its role in rebuilding the camp, reflecting tension between conceptions of protection and sovereignty over the refugee populations and their spaces. The tension is reflected at three levels: local, relating to the degree of "power" sought by the inhabitants in running their local affairs through the Nahr el Barid Reconstruction Commission for Civil Action and Studies; national, relating to the Lebanese state's plan for reconstruction of Nahr el Barid that stems from a perspective of enhancing sovereignty through "management of refugee populations"; and international, relating to the UN Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) "responsibility of protecting" Palestinians through the reconstruction of the Camp, as mandated by the international community. The paper argues that the tension in the discourses of various actors is underpinned by the ways they construct concerned populations in relation to their civilian status.