In this essay, I first discuss the necessity of examining the history of peacebuilding from an evolutionary standpoint. In so doing, I compare my model to other paradigms and demonstrate that there are insights to be garnered from the peacebuilding behavior of nonhuman species, particularly when it comes to avoidance of conflict and reconciliation. However, I suggest that, at its base, the struggle for power between nonhuman species drives the pursuit of cooperation, the dominance hierarchy (in the case of the primates), a reflection of power as a means to an end, which in this case is group survival.I conclude with some thoughts about the implications my theory has for understanding other schools of thought in IR theory as well as peacebuilding policy and practice.