The Military Balance is updated each year to provide an accurate assessment of the military forces and defence expenditures of 170 countries. Each edition contributes to the provision of a unique compilation of data and information enabling the reader to discern trends through the examination of editions back as far as 1959. The data in the current edition are according to IISS assessments as at November 2006. Inclusion of a country or state in The Military Balance does not imply legal recognition or indicate support for any government.
GENERAL ARRANGEMENT AND CONTENTS
The Editor's Foreword contains a commentary on calculating military capability in the twenty-first century.
Part I of The Military Balance comprises the regional trends, military capabilities and defence economics data for countries grouped by region. Thus North America includes the US and Canada. Regional groupings are preceded by a short introduction describing the military issues facing the region. There is an essay on the psychological component which is the third in a series describing aspects of complex irregular warfare. In this edition the introductory text to the North America section examines the current debate surrounding the evolution of US defence thinking. There are tables depicting aspects of defence activity including selected major training exercises, non-UN and UN multinational deployments, total US aircraft holdings, international defence expenditure, and the international arms trade.
Part II contains information on selected non-state armed groups with a table showing a synopsis of non-state activity.
Part III comprises reference material.
There are maps showing deployments in Iraq, NATO deployments in Afghanistan, the tribal areas of the Afghan-Pakistan border, and the Israel–Lebanon conflict.
The loose Chart of Conflict is updated for 2006 to show data on recent and current armed conflicts, including fatalities and costs
USING THE MILITARY BALANCE
The country entries in The Military Balance are an assessment of the personnel strengths and equipment holdings of the world's armed forces. Qualitative assessment is enabled by relating data, both quantitative and economic, to textual comment. The strengths of forces and the numbers of weapons held are based on the most accurate data available or, failing that, on the best estimate that can be made. In estimating a country's total capabilities, old equipments may be counted where it is considered that they may still be deployable.
The data presented each year reflect judgements based on information available to the IISS at the time the book is compiled. Where information differs from previous editions, this is mainly because of changes in national forces, but it is sometimes because the IISS has reassessed the evidence supporting past entries. An attempt is made to distinguish between these reasons for change in the text that introduces each regional section, but care must be taken in constructing time-series comparisons from information given in successive editions.
In order to interpret the data in the country entries correctly, it is essential to read the explanatory notes beginning on page 8.
The large quantity of data in The Military Balance has been compressed into a portable volume by extensive employment of abbreviations. An essential tool is therefore the alphabetical index of abbreviations for data sections, which appears at the back of the book.
ATTRIBUTION AND ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
The International Institute for Strategic Studies owes no allegiance to any government, group of governments, or any political or other organisation. Its assessments are its own, based on the material available to it from a wide variety of sources. The cooperation of governments of all listed countries has been sought and, in many cases, received. However, some data in The Military Balance are estimates.
Care is taken to ensure that these data are as accurate and free from bias as possible. The Institute owes a considerable debt to a number of its own members, consultants and all those who help compile and check material. The Director-General and staff of the Institute assume full responsibility for the data and judgements in this book. Comments and suggestions on the data and textual material are welcomed. Suggestions on the style and method of presentation are also much appreciated.
Readers may use data from The Military Balance without applying for permission from the Institute on condition that the IISS and The Military Balance are cited as the source in any published work. However, applications to reproduce portions of text, complete country entries or complete tables from The Military Balance must be referred to the publishers. Prior to publication, applications should be addressed to: Taylor and Francis, 4 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon, ox14 4RN, with a copy to the Editor of The Military Balance.