This work examines both the failures and successes of intervention by the international community into the internal conflicts that are plaguing the post-Cold War world. It examines the legal framework and the bureaucratic and political realities that govern intervention and helps to explain why performance has been so uneven. The strategy offered by the authors operates within the parameters of legal and political limits to improve effectiveness by increasing international cooperation. Although radical in the context of international intervention, it has strong precedents in both industry and in actual conflict resolution. It involves a move to decentralization of operations to the field, permitting those on the scene to exercise far greater responsibility than is now the case. It details models of success and argues that effective decentralization can be institutionalized. For this proposed strategy to be effective, reponsible leadership of international organizations and their member states requires reassurance. This reassurance can be provided by a process of systematic and joint planning for intervention performed at the highest level as well as by careful training within civilian agencies that deal with diplomacy or humanitarian services. All of the arguments and strategies developed by the authors are supported with examples developed from case studies of how to effectively accomplish their goal of mitigating the outbreaks of violent conflicts through improved international cooperation in intervention.