This chapter examines the theoretical and historical contours of regional peace-making in Africa, situating IGAD within broader debates about African regionalism, postcolonial integration, and the politics of emancipation. It critiques the dominant Eurocentric models of regional integration that often serve as uncritical benchmarks—particularly the European Union (EU)—and instead foregrounds Africa’s distinctive, context-sensitive modalities of regionalism, shaped by colonial legacies, state fragility, and Pan-African aspirations. The chapter traces the evolution of regional integration in Africa, showing how institutions like IGAD, ECOWAS, and the AU have emerged as pragmatic, often ad hoc, responses to complex regional challenges. These Regional Economic Communities (RECs), despite being structurally weak, perform vital peace and security functions, particularly through mediation and conflict prevention. Importantly, the chapter introduces the idea that regional integration in Africa is not merely a technocratic or institutional process, but also a form of restorative politics; an effort to rebuild communal ties fractured by colonialism, conflict, and external domination. Key themes include the communitarian ethos of ubuntu as a normative foundation for integration, the problem of overlapping memberships and regional rivalries, and the disjuncture between elite-driven integration processes and popular inclusion. The chapter argues that African regional peace-making must be understood as both a product of historical struggle and a vehicle for future-oriented political transformation. IGAD’s institutional trajectory is analysed within this broader context, revealing both its limitations and its adaptive capacities. The chapter makes the case that IGAD represents a paradigmatic shift away from liberal, rule-based models of integration and towards a more pluralistic, situational form of regional governance; one deeply informed by Pan-Africanist ideals and the urgent realities of African statehood and security.