Development cooperation or security policy? The EU’s support for conflict prevention and peacebuilding in a changing global environment

Over the past 25 years, the European Union (EU) has adopted an integrated or comprehensive approach to conflict prevention and peacebuilding (CPPB), which is promoted by the EU institutions as a strength and a unique added value. The EU’s global support for CPPB stems from multiple motivations cutting across different policy domains and originally linking back to its own soft power identity. Currently, CPPB is an important component of established EU policies, specifically development cooperation and security policy.