Thursday, September 18, 2008

Bzostek: Why Not Preempt? Security, Law, Norms and Anticipatory Military Activities

Rachel Bzostek (California State Univ., Bakersfield - Political Science) has published Why Not Preempt? Security, Law, Norms and Anticipatory Military Activities (Ashgate 2008). Here's the abstract:
Anticipatory military activities, which include both preemptive and preventive military actions, are at the centre of American strategic doctrine – however, states rarely use these activities. Rachel Bzostek puts forward an integrated analysis to help understand why states have or have not undertaken such activities in the past. 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 uses case studies to explore those elements that have played an influential role in the decision-making process.