Military power is what gets one's voice heard in world affairs. Creating and maintaining armed forces is among the costliest undertakings for a nation short of their employment in hostilities. Even a casual glance at history reveals that whatever their defensive role is, armed forces are often used to menace others. More often than not, they are used indirectly, as an implicit or explicit presence in the background of negotiations, rather than directly in fighting. States frequently find themselves on the opposite sides of disputes, and in their attempts to wrangle concessions out of each other they sometimes resort to military threats. The threat to use force can be verbal without any overt preparation to do so, or physical with all the measures – putting forces on alert, recalling reservists, mobilizing, dispatching the navy, deploying troops – required for its actual use. These physical measures, which I collectively refer to as military moves, do not have to be accompanied by an explicit warning. They are so menacing that the threat of hostile intent is implicit in their use. Sometimes these moves are nothing but necessary steps on the road to war.