US General Douglas MacArthur (left), military ruler of Japan 1945-1952, next to Japan's defeated Emperor

Military rule may mean several things in modern terms:

• When a country or area is conquered after invasion and placed under Belligerent occupation, also known as Military occupation (see list of military occupations).
• When a country or region is placed under martial law
• At times it may also be a police state as under totalitarianism.
• When a country is invaded or placed under military law
• When a country is governed by a military dictatorship as with a junta or "The Generals" or under a powerful Generalissimo
• When a country or region is judged by a military tribunal
• When a military applies a Court-martial and Nonjudicial punishment
• When specific laws are applied in a military context as in the US Uniform Code of Military Justice by the Judge Advocate General's Corps