ABSTRACT
This chapter situates practices and theories of peacebuilding in the contemporary Middle East. The first part provides a conceptual orientation on how peacebuilding can be defined in theory and in practice. It provides a brief overview of recent decades of international peacebuilding practices. The second part consists of four illustrative cases of peacebuilding. The first focuses on Security Sector Reforms (SSR) and how they have been practiced and implemented in the case of Tunisia since the ousting of the president Ben Ali in January 2011. The second case examines environmental peacebuilding efforts between Israeli and Palestinians as part of the Middle East peace process. It illustrates how local peacebuilding initiatives pertaining to environmental issues have sustained beyond the peace process. The third case analyzes how women have participated in the institutionalization of peace in Iraq and their struggle for gender equality. Finally, the last case illustrates how youth act as critical agents for peace and how their peacebuilding practices in Lebanon are performed. The chapter concludes on a note on the future of peacebuilding in the Middle East.
