By their very nature, standoffs stop time in its tracks. A certain tension, an expectancy, marks their existence in and through time. Standoffs may reflect entrenched, long-term, serious disagreements of individuals, groups, communities, or nations. Yet the kind of crisis that precipitates itself into a standoff draws attention to itself as a temporal anomaly, something outside of the normal parameters of time. As I noted in the first chapter, standoffs are existentially contingent and thus, at least analytically, temporary – no matter how long they actually last. Everyone knows that the standoff will end, but nobody knows exactly when or how. Standoffs are expected to be broken and resolved, such that the idea of a permanent standoff is a narrative and political anathema. All involved wait for “something to happen” that will break the paralyzing spell.