This book provides a fascinating insight into how countries prepare for war: the policies, the policy drivers, decision-making processes and the structure of the forces themselves. Twenty chapters each deal with a major power, or in a couple of cases a grouping of countries. And while each chapter has its own author, they follow a standard structure and are prepared in a similar style. This is particularly convenient if you want to quickly navigate across the policies of different countries.

Three editions were prepared between 1982 and 1994, with updated chapters. Unfortunately the third edition is the last, so now it is mostly of historical interest. For example, Japan's most significant threat was Russia, with China only ranking third. When they were new, the various editions of the Defense Policy of Nations were of much more value in international relations studies.

NOTE: At the date I have written this, most of the reviews on this book are from fake identities

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