This article introduces and justifies the concept of the peacekeeping economy. The peacekeeping economy refers to economic activity that either would not occur, or would occur at a much lower scale and pay-rate, without the international presence. In particular, the concern is with the formal and informal economic activity that directly links the international presence with the local individual. The approach thus foregrounds empirical research that relies on sources missing from most work on peacekeeping and peacebuilding, such as sex workers; domestic workers; security guards; drivers; service workers; others in the informal sector; subcontracted workers; and UN national staff-in addition to international personnel and local elites. The article argues that this approach allows certain aspects of peacekeeping missions to be observed that would not otherwise be seen: the practice and politics of the 'everyday life' of those involved in a peacekeeping mission, and those living with and alongside these missions. The article also introduces the various contributions to this special issue in light of some of the most pertinent themes and issues raised by the peacekeeping economy approach. Keywords peacekeeping economy; peacekeeping; political economy; Africa; gender Defining the Peacekeeping Economy Approach: Advantages and Limitations Peacekeeping is difficult, and being a peacekeeper is not easy either. The romantic notion of grateful locals welcoming the white-helmeted (but really bluebereted) peacekeepers has long since worn thin. Instead, the daily life of most peacekeepers consists of long working hours, routine tasks, stifling bureaucracy, loneliness and homesickness, and the relative isolation of the bunkered compound. Increasingly, the local environment is seen as too dangerous to freely move about in (Jennings 2014; Duffield 2010; Autesserre 2014a), while the local people that peacekeepers have supposedly come to serve are kept at arm's

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