Chapter 1 introduces the four major themes around the intersection of state power and international criminal justice that this book explores: the strategic use of self-referrals to the ICC, complementarity between national and international justice systems, the limits of state compliance with international courts, and the use of international courts in domestic political conflicts. Each of these major themes revolves around the ICC and its relationship with states. The four empirical cases – Uganda, Libya, Côte d’Ivoire, and Kenya – are also introduced briefly to highlight the ways in which they tie into the four themes, respectively. Chapter 1 also presents the theoretical framework and design of the book, and explains the selection of case studies.