This chapter argues that the Arusha pacification model, designed to end the decade-long civil war rooted in interethnic conflict, has given rise to illiberal peacebuilding methods in Burundi’s post-Arusha governance. Peacebuilding efforts that explicitly accommodated ethnicity rather than attempting to suppress it were significant in reducing the role of ethnicity. Still, regional and international actors played an important role in the process. With regard to Burundi’s most essential and lethal historical problem, the ethnic divide, the liberal pacification model has proved effective. Burundi’s prominent cleavage today lies within and between political parties rather than ethnic groups. The country’s current peace crisis stems from the ruling party’s failure to foster a democratic political culture. The National Council for the Defense of Democracy–Forces for the Defense of Democracy’s (CNDD-FDD) anti-democratic practices and authoritarian governance threaten to undermine the gains achieved since the Arusha Agreement.