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Peace and security are key concepts of the discipline of International Relations (IR). They have been historically and – just look at what is happening in the world today – they continue to have the utmost importance and relevance on the international agenda. However, the way in which they have been defined has been very different, especially since the eighties of the last century, when a multiplicity of critical theoretical approaches began to appear in the discipline. In this text, we present the theoretical framework of IR through its historical debates until we reach the current debate between rationalism and postpositivism. We also summarize the historical evolution of the analysis of peace and security in the discipline. Subsequently, we analyze the interpretations of peace and security in the different theoretical approaches. On the one hand, the rationalist ones (Liberalism, Realism and Marxism); and, on the other, the postpositivist ones, that is, Constructivism, Critical Theory, Poststructuralism, Postcolonialism, Feminisms and Green Theory. Finally, we examine the idea of human security.