The continuing presence of violent conflicts and humanitarian tragedies in large parts of the world combined with the United Nations' insufficient capabilities to address more than a few of these cases other than rhetorically merits a new close look at the idea of regionalising peace operations.

This article argues that in the light of recent interventions by regional and sub-regional organisations in Burundi, Côte d'Ivoire, Liberia and Sudan, regional organizations cannot longer be considered unfeasible.

The paper is structured into three parts:

• First, it discusses the underlying idea of regionalising peace operations as well as the five most potent arguments commonly advanced against them.

• Second, it contends that the recent surge in relatively effective regional peace operations in Africa as well as the ongoing development of a promising African security architecture provide enough empirical evidence to successfully challenge these arguments.

• The remaining part of the paper assesses the prospects for a further regionalisation of peace operations in Africa and briefly elaborates on the challenges ahead.