The authors outline the origins and nature of the conflict in Burundi, discuss the problems of establishing democracy in a region where ethnic conflict has occasioned genocide, trace the peace process in detail, and assess the prospects for the future.

South Africa's role in the Burundi peace process - why does it matter?; international intervention in Burundi - background considerations; war and the decline of human security in Burundi; the roots of the crisis; democracy aborted - from coup to civil war; Arusha 1 - background to the Arusha Peace Accord; the Arusha II negotiations - from Nyerere to Mandela; Madiba magic? Nelson Mandela's role as mediator; South Africa's continuing role; Burundi's fragile transition - from Buyoya to Ndayizeye; Burundi's transition under Ndayizeya - from impasse to a fragile deal; the contradictory dynamics of democratisation and demilitarisation; Burundian civil society and South African linkages; sustaining the peace - lessons from South Africa?; concluding observations - Mandela, South Africa and Burundi; postcript - 'we cannot accept to die like hens' - Tutsi fears and regional peace.