Fiscal-military state

A fiscal-military state is a state that bases its economic model on the sustainment of its armed forces, usually in times of prolonged or severe conflict. Characteristically, fiscal-military states will subject citizens to high taxation for this purpose.

In the past, states such as Spain, the Netherlands and Sweden, which were embroiled in long-lasting periods of war for local or global hegemony, were organized as fiscal-military states. The British East India Company also employed military fiscalism in maintenance of rule in India in the mid-18th century. Colonial powers generated their revenue for the maintenance of the army. Currently there are few states that could be described as fiscal-military states, which is probably due to the decline of large scale international conflicts in recent times. North Korea, with its official "Military first" policy, is one of the more obvious examples of a modern-day fiscal-military state.