Finding effective means of anticipating, preventing and responding to violent conflict remains one of the great challenges facing policymakers. Enduring wars, such as those in Sudan and the Democratic Republic of Congo, have cost millions of lives and destabilized entire regions. Troubling developments in countries like Iran and Pakistan test the international community’s ability to avert the threat of weapons of mass destruction in the hands of dangerous or unstable regimes. What have we learned from past experience that can help us prevent emerging threats from evolving into worst case scenarios? How can the U.S. government and international actors better anticipate conflicts and respond more effectively to those that persist in order to save lives and mitigate the grave economic, political and security costs of civil and inter-state wars?