The Military Balance has long been the standard annual reference work on its chosen topic, though the editors remind us that when first published 50 years ago, it extended only to 11 pages. It provides, they declare, “a comprehensive and independent assessment of the military capabilities and defence economics of 170 territories” (there are about 190 independent countries, but the missing ones are micro‐states presumably without significant armed forces). New features this year are stated to be a section of tables of the most important statistics, and an increasing emphasis on qualitative rather than quantitative judgements (e.g. what proportion of weapons are out of date).
The work is divided into seven geographical sections corresponding roughly to continents. For each there is an introductory descriptive essay, assessing recent developments (up to January 2011) in the defence policies and military capabilities of the most significant countries (which are not always the largest). Several special essays are also included, their subjects varying from year to year: this year's concern the war in Afghanistan, unmanned aerial vehicles, and cyber‐warfare. But much more space is devoted to detailed lists of the military, naval and air forces and equipment of each country. A typical entry would give figures for its gross national product and defence expenditure; the age distribution of its population; the total numbers serving in its active and reserve forces, with a breakdown into regular and conscript personnel and those of each service; a list of the number of units of each speciality; the numbers of major weapon systems (missiles, aircraft, ships, tanks, etc.) possessed, and of what type they are; and a statement of how many of its forces are deployed abroad, and where appropriate, of what foreign forces are deployed on its soil. Territories whose status are disputed, but have significant forces, are included, without any judgement as to their legitimacy. In this context it is ironic to note that the internationally recognised government of Somalia has no regular forces at all, whereas the unrecognised entity of Somaliland is credited with an army of 15,000. All these data are corrected up to November 2010.
However, it must be noted that the need to incorporate so many detailed figures is fulfilled only by ruthless compression and the use of numerous abbreviations. The uninitiated reader must grapple with lines like; “APC(T) 606:598M‐113A1 […]” almost as if this section was written in code, and considerable familiarity with military technology is assumed. Those who do not know what an F‐15 is, or how it differs from an F‐14 or F‐16, will not be enlightened in these pages.
The main text is supplemented by appropriate maps, graphs and tables. The principal map, inserted loose and likely to end its days on the wall of a student's bedroom if not secured, is the 2011 Chart of Conflict, which depicts the location and intensity of the most significant conflicts, with information on the number of deaths caused by them. There are many other cases where a map is more informative than a verbal description, as in the case of the map of attacks by Somali pirates year by year, which shows that their activities have now expanded to a range of 1,500 miles from their bases. Here too the editors make few concessions to civilians, as when the map of Afghanistan uses the standard graphic conventions for military units, without any explanation of them.
But the persistent reader will be rewarded by a wealth of information and analysis of military affairs, whether it be the political conflicts within the Iraqi armed forces, the results of India's growing apprehension at the expanding capabilities of China, or the fact that Germany is about to abolish conscription (do I hear Clausewitz turning in his grave?). The Military Balance continues to be an essential part of the reference collection of any library with a serious interest in the world's military or strategic affairs.
