In the post-Cold War era, United Nations (UN) débâcles in Somalia (1993) and Rwanda (1994) led to powerful Western actors abandoning Africa to its own fate. The neglect of the continent forced regional actors like the Organization of African Unity (OAU) – now the African Union; the Southern African Development Community (SADC); the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS); the Economic Community of Central African States (ECCAS); and the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD) – many of them primarily economic organisztions – to adopt security roles. However, these institutions remain weak, lacking financial and logistical means. Regional interventions have become embroiled in political difficulties. Progress has been made in stemming some of Africa’s most intractable conflicts, largely through the efforts of regional peacekeepers. Nigeria and South Africa have led peacekeeping efforts in Liberia, Sierra Leone, Burundi and the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). The return of UN peacekeepers to Africa, however, is a clear manifestation of the continuing weaknesses of Africa’s regional organizations. Despite efforts by these organisations to create security mechanisms to manage local conflicts, the UN’s role remains important to Africa’s evolving security architecture. Three policy recommendations result. First, there remains an urgent need for Western donors to demonstrate a similar generosity to Africa as to Bosnia, Kosovo, East Timor and Afghanistan. Second, a proper division of labor must be established between the UN and Africa’s fledgling security organizations. The willingness of Western peacekeepers, who have both the equipment and the resources, to continue to contribute to UN missions in Africa remains important. Finally, the missions in Sierra Leone, Liberia, Burundi and Congo could signify an innovative approach to UN peacekeeping in Africa based on regional pillars supported by local hegemons like Nigeria and South Africa whose political dominance is diluted by multinational peacekeepers from outside their subregions. By placing regional forces under the UN flag, the hope is that the peacekeepers will enjoy the legitimacy and impartiality that the UN’s universal membership often provides, while some of the financial and logistical problems of regional peacekeepers can be alleviated through greater burden-sharing.