ABSTRACT
After the end of the Cold War, peacebuilding became a popular form of international assistance to states in the wake of violent conflict. This chapter discusses the conceptual framework of peacebuilding in general and, more particularly, in the context of the relationship between the United Nations (UN) and the European Union (EU). The chapter traces the doctrinal shift from traditional peacekeeping to peacebuilding as a process of mutual influence between the two organisations. The UN and the EU accustomed peacebuilding as part of their approaches to conflicts almost simultaneously and adopted it as part of their peace missions. As one of the most coherent groups of states within the UN, the EU played a vital role in the normative development and institutionalisation of peacebuilding at the UN. At the time when the UN expanded its peacekeeping missions into peacebuilding tasks and established a specific body dedicated to peacebuilding, the EU launched its Common Security and Defence Policy. The UN’s shift towards peacebuilding has influenced the conceptualisation of the EU’s own approach to peacebuilding.
