standing armies
Always-ready military forces
A standing army is a permanent military force maintained in peacetime, as opposed to militias raised only during war or emergency.
The term often carries political weight, evoking concerns about government power and military expense: The founders debated whether standing armies threatened liberty.
The plural typically appears in historical or philosophical contexts discussing military policy.
- troopsMilitary personnel collectively
- soldiersMilitary personnel who fight
- mobilizedAssembled for action
- boots on the groundMilitary presence in area
- brigadesOrganized military units
infantry · battalion · regular army · army · conscription · barracks · defense · regiment · military · military budget · war footing · military readiness · colonial militias · warfare · territorial defense · militia training · division · paramilitary groups
- Early ModernRenaissance, 1500s, 1600s, Reformation, sixteenth century
- 1600s EuropeLouis XIV, Glorious Revolution, Peace of Westphalia, Versailles, William of Orange
- Early Modern EraLouis XIV, monarchy, Versailles, aristocracy, French Revolution
- Early Modern GermanyHoly Roman Empire, Protestant Reformation, Thirty Years War, Martin Luther, Brandenburg
standing armiesmilitias
Civilian defense forces
citizen militias · reserves · levies · minutemen · reserve forces
standing armiesdemilitarization
Removal of armed forces
disarmament · pacifism · people's army · non-violent resistance · diplomatic solutions
standing, armies, stand, stands, arming, armed, arms, understand, understanding