An authoritative, up-to-date examination of the national security and defense policies of 50 influential nations and regions across the globe. * Chapters cover defense spending and experiences with conflict for over 50 countries * Forty distinguished contributors from different countries and institutions, including Ivelaw Griffith and John Henderson, who are world experts on the security situations in their areas of interest * Two tables in each essay with basic security data for quick lookup * Bibliographic information included for each entry