This paper examines the international responses to the ethnic conflicts in Burundi and Rwanda from 1993-97 and their overspill into Zaire (now the Democratic Republic of Congo). The author concludes that the international response was impotent and incoherent. Soundbite diplomacy led decision-makers to act before adequately assessing the situation. In the end, it was the power of local rather than international intervention that set the agenda and provided the solution. The author urges a number of changes in response by the international community: the UN should create a Conflict Analysis Centre at its headquarters in New York; governments need to promote lateral understanding and cooperation between different players, including the media and the non-governmental organisation community; enlightened outside support can be the most valuable when an inexperienced government has just taken over; and greater understanding is needed on the part of Western states that traditional Western patterns of diplomacy are often inappropriate in other regions. Instead, non-party democracy and a strong element of sub-regional cooperation may be the models for the future.