Anticipatory military activities are at the center of American strategic doctrine. Bzostek puts forward a full understanding of why states have or have not undertaken such activities in the past in order to comprehend why states have rarely used this method. By exploring what kinds of strategic or structural elements compel states or leaders to take anticipatory military action, as well as how these concepts are viewed in both international law and the just war tradition, this book through the exploration of case studies determines which elements played some sort of influential role in the decision-making process.This book is ideal as a course reader for upper division undergraduate and graduates in security studies, international law, US foreign policy and those involved in the teaching and training of the military.