ABSTRACT
Peacebuilding is a compelling but highly loaded and contested concept. Despite relentless examination and searing critiques in the last two decades, its enduring power raises an interesting question. What is it about peacebuilding that generates strong reactions from its proponents and detractors alike? This chapter offers an answer to that question by examining the conflicting agendas that have come to be pursued under the deceptively benign term of peacebuilding. In specific, it focuses on the strong nexus between security and development that undergirds peacebuilding and the growing concerns over the securitization of peacebuilding.
