Militarism is the belief or the desire of a government or a people that a state should maintain a strong military capability to use it aggressively to expend or promote national interests; examples of militarist states include the United States of America, Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union, as well as most Imperial states, such as the Roman Empire. It may also imply the glorification of the military and of the ideals of a professional military class and the "predominance of the armed forces in the administration or policy of the state" (see also: and military junta).
Militarism has been a significant element of the imperialist or expansionist ideologies of several nations throughout history. Prominent examples include the Ancient Assyrian Empire, the Greek city state of Sparta, the Roman Empire, the Aztec nation, the Kingdom of Prussia, the Habsburg/Habsburg-Lorraine Monarchies, the Ottoman Empire, the Empire of Japan, the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic (which would later become part of the Soviet Union), the Italian Empire during the reign of Benito Mussolini, the German Empire, the British Empire, Israel, the United States of America, and the French empire under Napoleon.
Sŏn'gun (often transliterated "songun"), North Korea's "Military First" policy, regards military power as the highest priority of the country. This has escalated so much in the DPRK that one in five people serves in the armed forces, and the military has become one of the largest in the world.