Foreign Military Presence in Host Countries

Written By Dr. Ziva Rozen-Bakher

https://www.rozen-bakher.com/alliances/foreign-military-presence

Latest Update: 28 May 2026

COPYRIGHT ©2023-2026 ZIVA ROZEN-BAKHER ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

Rozen-Bakher, Z, Foreign Military Presence in Host Countries, Monitoring Alliances by Dr. Ziva Rozen-Bakher, https://www.rozen-bakher.com/alliances/foreign-military-presence

Monitoring Alliances by Dr. Ziva Rozen-Bakher

Monitoring Alliances by Dr. Ziva Rozen-Bakher: Monitoring Main Multilateral Trade/ Political/ Economic Alliances, as well as Multilateral Military Defence Treaties (MMDTs), Bilateral Military Defence Treaties (BMDTs), and Foreign Military Presence

Rozen-Bakher, Z. Monitoring Alliances by Dr. Ziva Rozen-Bakher https://www.rozen-bakher.com/monitoring-alliances

Dr. Ziva Rozen-Bakher

Researcher in International Relations and Foreign Policy with a Focus on International Security alongside Military, Political and Economic Risks for Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) and International Trade

CV

For Explanation about Military Defence Treaty versus Military Support Treaty versus Military Cooperation:

For explanations about Foreign Military Presence:

Foreign Military Presence in Host Countries

Foreign Military Presence in Host Countries gives an important layer about the Military Backup versus Military Risk that the Host Country has when Foreign Military bases and installations are located in the host country or, vice versa, about the Military Imperialism and Military Risk that the Home Country has when the Home Country has multiple distant Host countries with extensive Foreign Military Presence. The recent USA-Israel War against Iran gives a very good example for the Military Risk that the Host Country has when attacks carried out from Foreign Military bases that located in its territory, such as what happened when the USA attacked Iran from its bases in five GCC countries, and in retaliation, Iran attacked the USA bases in GCC countries, resulting in the situation that the five GCC countries were complicated in the war only because they have Foreign Military Presence and because they did not object that the USA will attack Iran from their territories.‍‍ Still, the recent USA-Israel War against Iran gives also a clear indication about the military risk that the home country has when the home country needs to protect many military bases under attacks, which even worsen when the home country needs to mobilize forces from the home country that located very far from the war zone, as what happened to the USA when the USA was needed to mobilize forces from the USA that located around 10,000 km from Iran. Thus, it can be argued that a long distance from the home country increases significantly the military risk of Military Imperialism, especially when the war involve many host countries with too many military bases and installations, as what happened to the USA in the recent war against Iran. Importantly, it is an illusion to think that Military Imperialism gives military backup to the home country, because it does not contribute to the defence of the home country, but instead, a Military Imperialism even burdens on the home country in terms of military spending and the dispersion of the military capabilities because of the need to simultaneously handle too many foreign military bases and installations in host countries, which significantly increases the military risk of the home country, especially if the home country also has colonies with military bases.

Hence, from the Host Country perspective, there is a Trade-off between the Military Benefits and the Military Risks regarding Foreign Military Presence. On the one hand, Foreign Military Presence gives some Military Backup to the host country, but on the other, Foreign Military Presence is not a Multilateral Military Defence Treaty (MMDT) or Bilateral Military Defence Treaty (BMDT), so paradoxically, it does not promise any commitment to defend in the case of an attack as exist in MMDTs or BMDTs. The agreement between the USA and Jordan about the USA’s Foreign Military Presence in Jordan is a good example of lack of the commitment to defend in the case of an attack (see Cite 8 in Section C3). More specifically, according to Article 6 on Security from the USA-Jordan agreement (see Document 2 in Section C3), not only that the USA have no commitment to defend Jordan in the case of an attack, but the opposite, Jordan should defend the USA’s personnel and installations in Jordan (see Clause 1 in Document 2 in Section C3), and Jordan is even primarily responsible for the security in Jordan outside the USA’s facilities (see Clause 4 in Document 2 in Section C3), so the USA has no any commitment to defend Jordan in the case of an attack. Worse, if attacks and wars carried out from the host country as happened in the recent USA-Israel War against Iran, then the host countries suffer from retaliation attacks as happened to the five GCC countries and Jordan. Hence, paradoxically, during the last years, not only that the GCC countries and Jordan not have more security, but the opposite, they have suffered from retaliation attacks against the USA’s bases and installations in their territories. For this reason, the constitutions of many countries prohibit Foreign Military Presence due to the Military Risk and the fear of complicity in others’ wars.

Even from the Home Country perspective, exists a Trade-Off between the Military Benefits and the Military Risks regarding Foreign Military Presence. On the one hand, Foreign Military Presence gives the home country strategic military points around the world, especially if the home country implements a policy of Military Imperialism as in the case of the USA that has numerous host countries with Foreign Military Presence. On the other hand, if the home country has too many host countries with Foreign Military Presence, then it burdens on the military capabilities of the home country, which significantly increases the military risk of the home country, especially if the home country also has colonies with military bases.

In the light of the above, here are the Typology of Foreign Military Presence in relation to Military Backup versus Military Risk:

  • Non-Foreign Military Presence: No Military Backup and No Military Risk ‍ ‍

  • Foreign Military Presence in Host Countries: Military Backup versus Military Risk

  • Foreign Military Presence in Colonies: Military Imperialism with Military Risk

  • Host Country Perspective of Foreign Military Presence: Military Backup versus Military Risk

  • Home Country Perspective of Foreign Military Presence: Military Imperialism with Military Risk but without Military Backup

  • Foreign Military Presence in Colonies by Sovereign State: Military Imperialism with Military Risk but without Military Backup

Importantly, Military Backup can be achieved via Foreign Military Presence, but mainly via MMDTs and BMDTs, as follows:

Considering the above, the list below presents the Full List of UN Members and Non-UN Members by Foreign Military Presence vs. Non-Foreign Military Presence, yet the list takes into account the Host Country Perspective vs. Home Country Perspective vs. Sovereign State with Colonies, with the aim of getting complete picture about the Military Backup versus Military Risk that each country has.

Map of Host Countries with Foreign Military Presence

Map of Home Countries with Foreign Military Presence

Chart of Total Number of Foreign Military Bases and Installations in Host Countries by Home Country

Chart of Total Number of Foreign Military Bases and Installations in Colonies by Home Country

Full List of UN Members and Non-UN Members by Foreign Military Presence/Non-Foreign Military Presence - Host Country Perspective vs. Home Country Perspective vs. Sovereign State with Colonies - sorted by Alphabetical Order

Foreign Military Presence by 2025 Global Survival Rank (GSR)

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Dr. Ziva Rozen-Bakher

Dr. Ziva Rozen-Bakher - A Researcher in International Relations with a Focus on Security, Political and Economic Risks for Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) and International Trade

https://www.rozen-bakher.com/
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