Conscription

Conscription  (militarism,  blackmail)
"Conscription means writing someone's name on a list–a list that, unfortunately, a lot of people usually don't want to be on!"

Conscription is compulsory military service that typically requires all citizens of a country to enrol for one or two years, usually at age 18 (later for university-level students). Most conscripting countries conscript only men, but Norway, Sweden, Israel, Eritrea, Morocco and North Korea conscript both men and women. Largely abandoned in the 20th Century, sincere efforts (or at least threats) are ongoing to try to re-introduce it in the 21st century.

History

Conscription has existed at least since ancient Egypt's Old Kingdom (27^th century BC), though universal conscription has been rare throughout history.

= 18^th Century

The modern system of near-universal conscription of young men dates to the French Revolution in the 1790s, when it gave rise to the very large military. Most European nations copied the system in peacetime, so that men at a certain age would serve 1 to 8 years on active duty and then be transfer to a reserve force.

= 19^th Century

In the US, conscription was called "the draft" and was first applied both both sides in the American Civil War. In the North, there were pockets of resistance and the practice led to riots in several cities. The US abandoned it at the end of the war and didn't revive it until World War I.

= 20^th Century

In the US, draft refusal was so widespread as an act of resistance to the Vietnam War that it generally went unpunished.

Controversy

Conscription is controversial for a range of reasons, including conscientious objection to military engagements on religious or philosophical grounds; political objection, for example to service for a disliked government or unpopular war; sexism, in that historically men have been subject to the draft in the most cases; and ideological objection, for example, to a violation of individual rights.

Those conscripted may evade service, sometimes by leaving the country, and seeking asylum in another country. Some selection systems accommodate these attitudes by providing alternative service outside combat-operations roles or even outside the military, such as siviilipalvelus (alternative civil service) in Finland and Zivildienst (compulsory community service) in Austria and Switzerland. Several countries conscript male soldiers not only for armed forces, but also for paramilitary agencies, which are dedicated to police-like domestic-only service like internal troops, border guards or non-combat rescue duties like civil defence.

= 21^st Century

After the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine, increasing numbers of Western European countries have been open talking about re-introducing conscription (notwithstanding the fact that modern warfare makes extensive use of high technology such as drones which make numbers of soldiers less important).

Germany

In Germany since 2026 men under 45 were required to seek approval from the Bundeswehr to leave the country for longer than three months.

UK

On 26 May 2024, UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak announced that eighteen-year-olds would be compelled to perform a mandatory national service if the Conservative Party were to win the United Kingdom’s July 4 election, although the party insisted that the scheme should not be termed "conscription".

A Labour Party spokesperson said:

“This is not a plan – it’s a review which could cost billions and is only needed because the Tories hollowed out the armed forces to their smallest size since Napoleon.”

Workers Party says NO

George Galloway posted on X:

"We warned you @10DowningStreet

"We will mobilise millions against any attempt to impose #Conscription

"Our young people will not die in America's wars. @WorkersPartyGB @No2NatoNo2War"

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