Seaforth World Naval Review 2023. / edited by Conrad Waters.

"Conrad Waters' overview sets out the balance of defence expenditure of the leading nations and the fleet strengths of the 12 major navies, with excellent tables. Whilst the Russo-Ukrainian war has exposed Russian errors and weaknesses, the US withdrawal from Afghanistan, revealed cracks in NATO solidarity, emboldening adventurism by 'near-peer' competitors. The US National Defence Strategy continues the 'Pivot to the Pacific'. With Australia becoming more important to US strategy, the pendulum of naval might is shifting decisively to the Asia-Pacific region. He notes that defence spending has increased the 'world military burden' to over US$2 trillion. The West's over-hasty peace dividend at the end of the Cold War was a mistake, necessitating the scramble now to make good military deficiencies."--Provided by the publisher.