Once upon a time, there lived an agile cat, whose favorite treats were tender mice from a colony that lived in constant fear of becoming the cat's dinner. One day, one of the mice had a brilliant idea: why not place a bell on a rope around the cat's neck while he was asleep? With such an early warning device, the mice could avoid the cat's silent stealth. When the clever mouse looked to the others for a volunteer, there were just blank stares and a deafening silence as each mouse weighed the great personal risk that “belling the cat” would spell for a brave volunteer. Of course, once the bell was secured on the cat, every mouse in the colony would benefit greatly. This children's fable and the collective action problem that it embodies is analogous to the social dilemmas posed by bullies, bandits, tyrants, kleptocrats, or rogue states that have plagued humankind from the beginning of time and the rise of nation states.

With the advent of weapons of mass destruction (WMD), the stakes have increased greatly so that nations are even more concerned about rogue states that operate outside of accepted norms of behavior. Such states may use WMD to threaten other countries, a region, or even the global community. North Korea and Iraq (prior to the US-led March 2003 invasion) are often characterized as rogue nations that seek WMD to invade neighboring countries, to influence the global agenda, or to extort concessions. Although their potential arsenals are more threatening, rogue states have been around throughout recorded history. Examples include Athenian imperialism to maintain the Delian League around 400 B.C. following the defeat of the Persians.