No / UN peacekeeping is once again undergoing a period of intense critical scrutiny. Having passed through three major phases of development, from first (classical or traditional) to second (multidimensional) generation configurations, to a third phase in the mid- and late 1990s when peace support operations emerged, it currently faces another period of transition. This article speculates about the possible configuration of peacekeeping and its role in global politics. Debates about the role of peacekeeping in the international system should bring to the forefront a conception and practice of cosmopolitan peacekeeping, involving a capacity to protect civilians from violent conflict (the negative peace dimension) and a the capacity to address the human security agenda adopted by the UN in recent years.