Such a concept is closely related with the adoption of a comprehensive approach in the field of conflict prevention and conflict resolution. In a long-term perspective, this holistic approach would generate a situation of peace and security, preventing the outbreak or recurrence of new episodes of violence and improving recovery and development interventions.
This vision is linked to the ‘normative power Europe’ narrative, with a thriving production of rules around governance and human rights. However, this European vision has been blurred over time and is now manifested in the aspiration to influence the diffusion of the norms enshrined in the acquis communitaire.
Given the decline of the EU as a global actor, the search for a new narrative seeking to conceptualise the European Union as an international actor has focused on the development of the Union as a holistic player in its external action, through a comprehensive approach that merges development and security.
In this paper we analyse the evolution and transformation of the value of sustainable peace in the European narrative, and we examine how the comprehensive approach is based on a fundamental conceptualization about the security-development nexus, which influences the European Union’s approach to foreign policy while reflecting certain limitations on political involvement regarding security issues.
