ABSTRACT
This chapter provides the background to police reform, the element of peacebuilding under exploration in this book. Police reform is shown to be a core element of peacebuilding and a vital element of state-society relations. The second part introduces European Union peacebuilding, known as civilian crisis management. It demonstrates that the EU has a specific understanding of peacebuilding and police reform, which colours the way it implements its reforms on the ground. This chapter is designed to guide the reader into the topic of international peacebuilding and particularly police reform as the backdrop to this study.
