What factors might prompt a nation to build and maintain a large active-duty military force? Explain.

A large active duty military force is a feature in certain countries. Maintaining an active military force is dependent on factors such as political will, magnitude of perceived external threats, and availability of up-to-date military technology. Despite the expense of maintaining an active military outfit, those are the good reasons why relatively low GDP nations like India, China, North Korea, Pakistan, Vietnam and Myanmar are able to maintain high scores in terms of active military personnel.