'This article has shown that international donor involvement in Rwanda and Burundi is, in part, a product of very different war-time trajectories. Aid is a consequence of particular relationships, not only a cause, and ruling elites in recipient countries play a critical role in constructing those relationships. Part of the difference between Rwandan and Burundian aid relationships can be explained by the different political contexts leading to the emergence of the RPF and CNDDäóñFDD, their different internal structures, and the fact that the Rwandan civil war ended in military victory, while the Burundian civil war ended in protracted negotiated settlements. Thus the RPF has been better able to articulate a single narrative vis-{\`{a}}-vis donors, and has more policy autonomy and a stronger ability to direct its international donor engagements. The CNDDäóñFDD operates within a more fractured political context and it has had much more difficulty managing donor relations. Yet in both countries it is the wider population that continues to suffer the consequences of the gap between the rhetoric and actions of both national elites and international donors.'