Military service has been mandatory for men throughout the history of independent Finland since 1917. Soldiers and civil servicemen receive a daily salary of 3.60 € (days 1-180), 5.75 € (days 181-270) and 8.25 € (onward from day 271).

After the training part of the service is done, the soldier enters the reserve. The reservists can be called to mandatory refresher exercises. Rank and file serves 40 days maximum, specialists 75 days and officers 100 days. For this, a salary of about 50 euro per day is paid. The service is mandatory; it is not possible to refuse an order to attend the refresher exercise.

The length of non-military service has been criticized as being punitive by Amnesty International because it is over twice as long as the most common alternative, six-month military service. Several motions to shorten it have been made in the Finnish Parliament but none have passed.

Conscription - Germany

Germany has mandatory military service of nine months for men. Women may volunteer and are allowed to perform the same jobs as men. A conscientious objector may petition for permission to do civilian "alternative service" (Ersatzdienst) or "(alternative) civilian service" (Zivildienst) instead for nine months, which is usually accepted. A third option is to become a foreign "development helper" (Entwicklungshelfer) for at least eighteen months. Overall, however, during the past few years, the number of men being drafted has declined significantly.

Save for a few exceptions, military service is compulsory for all men between the ages of 18 and 23 years. Those who are engaged in educational or vocational training programs prior to their military assessment are allowed to postpone service until they have completed the programs and can be called upon to perform their national duty at any time thereafter.

Conscription - Greece

As of 2004, Greece (Hellenic Republic) has mandatory military service of 12 months for men. However, it is developing a professional army system, and it is widely expected that the mandatory military service will be cut to 6 months by 2008 or even abolished completely. Although women are accepted into the Greek army, they are not obliged to join as men are. Soldiers receive no health insurance, but they can receive medical support during their army service, including hospitalization costs. They receive a symbolic salary of approximately 9 euros per month for privates, 12 euros for the rank of draft corporal and draft sergeant, and 600 euros as a draft cadet. The wages are not sufficient to sustain a draftee serving his tour away from his place of residence and most draftees depend financially on their parents to support them financially while they are on their tour.

Conscription - Israel

Israel has mandatory military service for both Jewish men and women not married by the conscription age. All Israeli Jews are conscripted, except Haredim, who can choose to serve but mostly do not. Israeli Arabs are exempt from service, although they can volunteer and some communities such as the Druze, Bedouin, and Circassians do serve.

Young women can generally not serve if they are married, pregnant, or otherwise - Israel is generally very lenient with Israeli women when it comes to the draft. However, most that can do serve out of patriotism.

Typically, men serve for 36 months, women serve for 24 months. See also: Israel Defence Forces.

There are limited number of refuseniks who resist military service, particularly in the West Bank, some of them serving short prison terms as a result (no more than a few months). See also: Refusal to serve in the Israeli military.

Conscription - Korea South

As of 2004, South Korea has mandatory military service of 24 months. See: [2].

Conscription - Lebanon

Lebanon previously had mandatory military service of one year for men. On the 4th of May 2005, a new conscription system was adopted, making for a six-month service, and pledging to end conscription within two years. See Official Information from Lebanese Army.

Conscription - Malaysia

As of 2004, Malaysia has mandatory national service of three months for a selected group of both men and women. Twenty per cent of 18-year-olds are selected through a lottery system to join this program. Trainees are not trained to use firearms. The first training date was February 16, 2004. See Official Information from Malaysia National Service Training Department.

Conscription - Mexico

Currently, all males reaching 18 years of age must register for military service (Servicio Militar Nacional, or SMN) of one year, though selection is made by a lottery system using the following color scheme: whoever draws a black ball must serve as a "disponibility reservist", that is, they must not follow any activities whatsoever and get their discharge card at the end of the year. The ones who get a white ball serve in a Batallón del Servicio Militar Nacional (National Military Service Battalion) composed entirely of one-year SMN conscripts. Those with a community service interest may participate in Literacy Campaigns as teachers, or as Phys-Ed instructors. Military service is also (voluntarily) open to women. In certain cities, such as Mexico City and Veracruz, there is a third option: a red ball (Mexico City) and a Blue ball (Veracruz), which entails serving a full year as a recruit in a Paratrooper Battalion in the case of Mexico City residents, or a Infantería de Marina unit (Navy Marines) in Veracruz. In other cities which have a Navy HQ (such as Ciudad Madero), it is the Navy which takes charge of the conscripts, instead of the Army.

Conscription - Norway

Norway has mandatory military service of 18 months for men between the ages of 18 (17 with parental consent) and 44. The actual draft time is 6 months for the national guard, and 9-12 months for the regular army and navy. The remaining months are supposed to be served in annual exercises, but very few conscripts do this due to lack of funding to the Norwegian armed forces. The decreased funding and greater reliance on high technology in the armed forces has resulted in only a third of the male population completing the service (since the late 1990's). The remaining two thirds have mostly formally been dismissed after medical tests or obtained deferral of the service due to studies or stays abroad. Many Norwegians consider it unfair that they are the "unlucky" 1/3 that have to complete the compulsory military duty when so many others are dismissed. The Norwegian armed forces will normally not draft a person who has reached the age of 28. In Norway certain voluntary specialist training programs entail extended conscription of one to eight years. Pacifists can apply for non-military service, lasting 13 months. Women can volunteer for military service in any part of the armed forces.

Conscription - Poland

Poland has a compulsory service term of 12 months for all mature men. However, many of those are considered unfit for mandatory military service during peacetime. Effectively, many tens of thousands of men are drafted each autumn. Alternative service can be requested, e.g. in the police force.

Conscription - Romania

Romania still has conscription. In 2003 an amendment to the Constitution allowed the Parliament to mark the military service facultative and the conscription will end in January 2007. Men serve for 12 months (6 months if they have graduated a form of higher education). As of 2004, conscripts no longer serve in the Romanian Navy.

The Romanian parliament voted in October 2005 to end the draft after the October 2006 "class" of draftees reports for duty. Beginning in January 2007, 20 year-old Romanian men will have to register with the government but the men will only be liable to call up in the case of war. The parliamentary vote formalized one of many military modernization and reform programs Romania agreed to when it joined NATO. By 2012, the age to require to be is 17 year-old Romanian men l have to register for the government.

Conscription - Russia

As of 2002, Russia (Russian Federation) has a mandatory two-year draft but most Russians avoid it by bribing officials and/or talking doctors into signing a letter that the draftee is in poor health and cannot serve. As a result, Russian generals have complained on numerous times that the bulk of the army is made up of drug-addicts, imbeciles, and ex-convicts, which in turn has lead to an overall decline of the morale and function of the Russian armed services. Conscripts often face brutal hazing and bullying upon their enterance into the military known as dedovschina, some dying as a result. Suicide among Russian conscripts is at an all time high.

See Only 11 percent of Russian men enter mandatory military service.

See also Dedovschina.

Conscription - Singapore

In Singapore, the NS (Amendment) Act was passed on 14 March 1967, under which all able-bodied male citizens of 18-21 years of age were required to serve a compulsory military service of two years (down from two and a half years, amended in 2005). Upon completion of full-time NS, they undergo reservist training cycles of 40 days a year for the next 10 years.

Singapore, which currently has a mandatory service period of 24 months, used to have one of the longest mandatory military service periods for males, at 30 months. It also has special policies for ethnic Malays, because of possible conflicts in allegiances with neighbour Malaysia. Some of the Malays are drafted into the police or Civil Defense.

See National Service

Conscription - Sweden

In Sweden military service is mandatory for men only. As of 2002, Sweden's government asked the army to consider mandatory military service for women. Less than one third of the country's eligible 19-year-olds are actually drafted each year. See Sweden considers mandatory military service for women. Men may choose to do unarmed service, for instance as a firefighter. Generally, unarmed service is longer than armed.

Conscription - Switzerland

Switzerland has the largest militia army in the world (220,000 including reserves). Military service for Swiss men is obligatory according to the Federal Constitution, and includes 17 weeks of basic training as well as annual 3-week-refresher courses until a number of service days which increases with rank (260 days for privates) is reached. Service for women is voluntary, but identical in all respects. Conscientious objectors can choose 450 days of community service instead of military service. Medical deferments and dismissals from basic training (often on somewhat dubious grounds) have increased significantly in the last years. Therefore, only about 33% of Swiss men actually complete basic training.

Conscription - Taiwan ROC

The Republic of China has had mandatory military service for all males since 1949. Females from the outlying islands of Fuchien were also required to serve in a civil defense role, although this requirement has been dropped since the democratization of the ROC government. In October 1999, the mandatory service was shortened from 24 months to 22 months. From January 2004, the mandatory service was shortened futher. At this point, the duration of mandatory military service is 18 months. Beginning Jan 1, 2006, the duration will decrease to 16 months and by 2008, it will be shortened to 12 months. ROC nationals with Overseas Chinese status are exempt from service. Draftees may also request alternative service, usually in community service areas, although the required service period would be longer than military service. Qualified draftees with graduate degrees in the sciences or engineering who pass officer candidate exams may also apply to fulfill their obligations in a national defense service option which involves three months of military training, followed by an officer commission in the reserves and four years working in technical jobs in the defense industry or government research institutions.

The Ministry of Interior is responsible for administering the National Conscription Agency. Ministry of Interior site on Consciption Administration

Conscription - Turkey

In Turkey, compulsory military service applies to all male citizens from 20 to 41 years of age (with some exceptions). Those who are engaged in higher education or vocational training programs prior to their military drafting are allowed to delay service until they have completed the programs. The duration of the basic military service varies. As of July 2003, the reduced durations are as follows: 15 months for privates (previously 18 months), 12 months for reserve officers (previously 16 months) and 6 months for short-term privates, which denotes those who have earned a university degree and not have been enlisted as reserve officers (previously 8 months).

For Turkish citizens who have lived or worked abroad of Turkey for at least three years, on condition that they pay a certain fee in foreign currencies, a basic military training of one month is offered instead of the full-term military service. Also, when the General Staff assesses that the military reserve exceeds the required amount, paid military service of one-month's basic training is established.

Although women have in principle no military service, they are allowed to become officers.

Refusing the obligatory military service due to conscientious objection is illegal in Turkey, and punishable with imprisonment by law.

Conscription - Ukraine

The options are either reserve officer training for two years (offered in universities as a part of a program), or one year regular service.

Conscription - Venezuela

In Venezuela, all citizens over 18 should report to the local military authority for evaluation. If the citizen can provide enough proof that they should not serve (They are college students, or have medical reason not to) they are exempt. However if they cannot prove this, they are conscripted and must serve up to 2 years of mandatory military service.

Raids are usually made in night clubs and other nocturnal entertainment places to check whether or not men inside are 'registered' as reservists.

Conscription - Countries that do not currently have mandatory military service partial list

Conscription - Argentina

Argentina abolished military conscription in 1994, yet those in service had to finish it.

Conscription - Australia

Conscription - Belgium

Belgium abolished military conscription in 1994.

Conscription - Canada

In Canada conscription has never taken place in peacetime. Conscription became an extremely controversial issue during both World War I and World War II, especially in the province of Quebec.

Conscription - Czech Republic

The Czech Republic abolished compulsory military service on December 31, 2004. See announcement by the Minister of Defence and related BBC News article.

Conscription - France

Modern conscription was invented during the French Revolution, since the army needed men to stop Austrian and British invasions from destroying the newly founded Republic. The 1798 Jourdan Act stated: "Any French is a soldier and owes himself to the defense of the nation". Thus Napoleon Bonaparte could create afterward the Grande Armée which successfully battled European professional armies.

France abolished peacetime military conscription in 1996, while those born before 1979 had to complete their service (see related BBC News article); since the Algerian War of Independence (1954-62), conscripts had not been deployed abroad or in war zones, except those volunteering for such deployments.

Conscription - Hungary

Hungary abolished mandatory military service by November 2004, after the parliament had modified the constitution, ending a long-standing political dispute. To restore drafting, a two-thirds vote in parliament is needed, which is unlikely in the short term. The country is currently developing a professional army, with strong emphasis on "contract soldiers" who voluntarily serve 4+4 years for a wage.

Conscription - India

India has never had mandatory military service, either under British rule or since independence in 1947.

Conscription - Iraq

Saddam Hussein's large Iraqi army was largely composed of conscripts, except for the elite Republican Guard. About 100,000 conscripts died during the First Gulf War, also known as Operation Desert Storm. In the intervening years, Iraq's military suffered from decay and poor leadership, but there was still compulsory service. One program of note was "Ashbal Saddam" known as "Saddam's Cubs" where children were trained to defend Iraq through "toughening" excercises such as firearms training and dismembering live chickens with their teeth. Following the Second Gulf War where the original military was disbanded, the Iraqi Army was recreated as a volunteer force with training overseen at first by the CPA and later by the American presence.

Conscription - Ireland

Ireland has always had a fully volunteer military. See the Irish Defence Forces. The threat of conscription being extended to Ireland in the First World War contributed to the creation of the Irish Free State in the 1920s. (Also see: United Kingdom below).

Conscription - Italy

Until January 1, 2005, Italy had mandatory military service for men between the ages of 18 and 45. Men were usually required to serve for ten months. Anyone objecting to military service for religious or ethical reasons could claim to be a conscientious objector, in which case community service was usually authorised as an alternative to the regular ten months of military service.

The Italian Parliament, by a large majority, voted to abolish mandatory military service from 1 January 2005, and the Italian armed forces will be now be entirely composed of professional volunteer troops, both male and female. [3].

Conscription - Japan

Japan's Self Defence Forces have been a volunteer force since their establishment in the 1950s, following the end of the Allied occupation. As the Japanese constitution expressly prohibits Japan from maintaining any offensive military force, conscription will most likely never be an issue in the near future.

Conscription - Luxembourg

Luxembourg has a volunteer military. See the National Museum of Military History.

Conscription - Netherlands

The Netherlands established conscription for a territorial militia in 1814, simultaneously establishing a standing army which was to be manned by volunteers only. However, lack of sufficient volunteers caused the two components to be merged in 1819 into a "cadre-militia" army, in which the bulk of troops were conscripts, led by professional officers and NCOs. This system remained in use until the end of the Cold War. Between 1991 and 1996, the Dutch armed forces phased out their conscript personnel and converted to an all-volunteer force. The last conscript troops were inducted in 1995 and demobilized in 1996. Formally, the Netherlands has not abolished conscription; that is to say, the laws and systems which provide for the conscription of armed forces personnel remain in place, and Dutch citizens who completed their military service prior to 1996 can still, theoretically, be mobilized in the event of a national emergency.

Conscription - New Zealand

Conscription of men into the armed forces of New Zealand came into effect in 1940, and was abolished in 1972.

Conscription - Portugal

Portugal abolished compulsory military service on November 19, 2004. See an announcement by the Minister of Defence.

Conscription - Slovakia

Slovakia abolished compulsory military service on January 1, 2006.

Conscription - Slovenia

Slovenia's Prime Minister Anton Rop abolished mandatory military service on September 9, 2003. See the official press release.

Conscription - Spain

Spain abolished compulsory military service in 2001. See an announcement by the Minister of Defence. Military and alternative service was 9 months long and in recent years the majority of conscripts chose to perform alternative, rather than military, service.

Conscription - United Kingdom

The United Kingdom introduced conscription during both world wars. For the first two years of World War I the British relied on volunteers. But by 1916 the need for yet more soldiers to replace losses at the front, forced the British Government to introduce conscription under the Military Service Act.

Ireland was initially exempt from conscription in the First World War, but it was extended to Ireland on April 9, 1918. This led a Conscription Crisis in Ireland and was a decisive factor in pushing the country into seeking its independence. The poet W.B. Yeats wrote to Lord Haldane in protest: "...it seems to me a strangely wanton thing that England, for the sake of 50,000 Irish soldiers, is prepared to hollow another trench between the countries and fill it with blood." Also in protest, Lady Gregory declared "women and children will stand in front of their men and receive the bullets, rather than let them be taken to the front." Northern Ireland was exempt from conscription in the Second World War, and was also excluded from the post-war National Service.

Conscription was reintroduced in 1939 at the start of World War II. Not only was conscription used for the three branches of the armed forces, it was also introduced to aid in coal mining with the Bevin Boys, and later in the war with the introduction of conscription of women into the Women's Land Army to help with agricultural production. After World War II, the Government introduced National Service, which was abolished in 1960.

Conscription - United States

The United States has employed conscription intermittently. For example, in 1863 the imposition of a draft during the Civil War touched off the New York Draft Riots. Conscription was next used after the United States entered World War I in 1917. The first peacetime conscription came with the Selective Training and Service Act of 1940. Active conscription ("the draft") ended in 1973. Currently, male U.S. citizens and many male aliens living in the U.S., if aged 18 through 25, are required to register with the Selective Service System, whose mission is "to provide manpower to the armed forces in an emergency; and to run an Alternative Service Program for men classified as conscientious objectors during a draft."

Conscription - Arguments for conscription

Conscription - Valuable training

Some argue that peacetime conscription is an ideal tool for teaching a population basic, important skills such as first aid, swimming, wilderness survival and so on. However, it can be argued that these skills could better be taught in the public school system than during mandatory service.

Conscription - The draft as protection against democracy-destroying military coups

Some argue that conscription should be connected to democracy. A professional army can possibly become a dangerous state-within-a-state. Military virtues such as obedience to orders and respect for the chain of command can possibly be abused by aspiring dictators. Armed forces can attract - consciously or unconsciously - people who prefer authoritarian systems. The army can even become the only chance for a job and decent life in times of unemployment, or for despised minorities. Such people may come to regard the army as their home and elevate it above the state.

On the other hand, once in power a number of dictators such as Napoleon, Hitler, Stalin, and Saddam Hussein have used conscription to drive their undemocratic ambitions. The most significant attempt on Hitler's life was from the professional component of his military.

Conscription - Manpower

Small countries have several options to raise a sizeable army. One is to put every able-bodied man under arms. This is how Switzerland managed to stay independent despite repeated attacks throughout history. The Swiss militias were so successful that their fighting style and weapons (especially the halberd) were quickly adopted by their enemies. Many rulers even raised Swiss Guards. The rich Flemish trade cities of the early 14th century raised huge militias that could even defeat armies of knights. The famous Battle of the Golden Spurs (1302) is a good example.

Other options for national defence include membership in a military alliance like NATO, as is the case for countries like Belgium and Luxembourg. Switzerland started out as a military alliance between independent counties.

Also, a wealthy small country could hire a professional mercenary army. This approach does, however, require wealth and men who are willing to hire on. Moreover, it required some means to control the mercenaries if they became unruly.

Conscription - Personnel diversity

Perhaps the kind of people who most strongly want to be in the military are not always the only kind of people who are needed in it. Conscripts come from various backgrounds and might have differing opinions and views. A diverse group is arguably more likely to succeed at any task. Still, the frequently lower morale and experience of conscripts may make them less useful in actual combat situations, especially in wars of aggression. This has been witnessed in the Vietnam War and Soviet-Afghan War.

Personnel diversity might be bad for armies in some ways, by inhibiting communication and increasing social tension, but it also helps different people come together and realize the true nature of an all-inclusive society. For example, it helps them understand the problems of other classes, professions, cultures, and educational levels. Similar arguments have been presented in favor of desegregation in schools. However, in countries that already have desegregated schools (i.e. most of the western world) it is not clear why the armed forces would be more important in bringing different people together than the school system, or could accomplish this in ways in which the school system could not.

Conscription - Conscript quality

The manpower quality of a conscript force is considered poor in many countries. However, in some countries with conscription, the personnel diversity of the conscript force is considered its greatest strength. Admittedly, there are persons who would not be employed by a professional force, but these are a minority, and can be discharged for medical reasons in extreme cases.

However, the conscript force may also receive the best of the youth. Many conscripts are from such social strata that they would have much more lucrative employment or would be studying, were they not obliged to serve. These persons provide talented manpower that can easily be trained for technical and leadership duties. As junior NCO and commissioned officer positions are filled with leadership-trained conscripts, the size and cost of the professional cadre is much smaller. As these ex-conscripts, as reservists, mature and lose their fighting fitness, they can be subsequently retrained and given emergency positions corresponding their civilian expertise. For example, a transport manager who is a reserve officer might serve as a battalion logistics chief during wartime. The leadership-trained conscripts can also be recruited to the regular forces.

Conscription - Political and moral motives

Jean Jacques Rousseau argued vehemently against professional armies, feeling it was the right and privilege of every citizen to participate to the defence of the whole society and a mark of moral decline to leave this business to professionals. He based this view on the development of the Roman republic which came to an end at the same time as the Roman army changed from a conscript to professional force.

The right of the state to conscript its citizens can be founded on Utilitarianism principles. First, we conjecture that the army must never be used for a war of aggression, but only to preserve the state. Second, we conjecture that the occupation by a foreign country would include unbearable conditions, e.g. genocide or destruction of the local way of life. If these two requirements are fulfilled, the greatest good to the greatest number of person may be achieved by sacrificing a number of persons and thus, these persons, the reservists serving in the armed forces, should be willing to make this sacrifice out of altruism. In fact, even without accepting this, the moderate (1-10 %) chance of dying compared to the prospect of living in an occupied country may be preferable.

Conscription can give the conscripts a lasting patriotic view and readiness to die for the good of the whole. Such readiness should be present in a virtuous citizen at all times, but through training, the readiness becomes a grim reality, not rhetoric. This tends to decrease the admiration of the military. On the other hand, the fact that every person understands that a war - any war - means that they themselves, friends, and relatives will be dying or at the least, facing mortal danger, decreases the willingness to enter an armed conflict. In practice, a conscript force cannot be used for an aggressive war for long, as this results in moral degradation both at home and on the front, testified by Afghanistan and Vietnam Wars. This decreases the possibility of the government to engage in foreign adventures, thus preserving peaceful relations to all nations on Earth.

Conscription - Arguments against conscription

Conscription - Conscription and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights

Many arguments opposed to conscription, or opposed to gender-discriminated conscription, arise from its violation of the principles of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights of the United Nations. In particular:

• Art.1: All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights. (...)
• Art.2: Everyone is entitled to all the rights and freedoms set forth in this Declaration, without distinction of any kind, such as (...) sex (...)
• Art.3: Everyone has the right to life, liberty and security of person.
• Art.4: No one shall be held in (...) servitude (...)
• Art.13: (1)Everyone has the right to freedom of movement and residence within the borders of each state. (2) Everyone has the right to leave any country, including his own, and to return to his country.
• Art.20: (...) No one may be compelled to belong to an association.
• Art.23: Everyone has the right (...) to free choice of employment (...)

In addition, many Constitutions do provide similar rights in Countries where there is or has been some form of conscription after World War II or that mantain a possibility of conscription in time of war.

Conscription - The draft as slavery

Some groups, such as libertarians, say that the draft constitutes slavery, since it is mandatory work. Under the 13th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, slavery or indentured servitude is not allowed unless it is part of punishment for a crime. They therefore see the draft as unconstitutional (at least in the U.S.) and immoral. In 1918, the Supreme Court ruled that the World War I draft did not violate the United States Constitution. Arver v. United States, 245 U.S. 366 (1918) ([4]). The Court detailed its conclusion that the limited powers of the federal government included conscription. Its only statement on the Thirteenth Amendment issue was based on a "supreme and noble duty" argument from nationalism and not legal reasoning:

In the USSR, most of the conscripts received only very basic training and were used for forced labor unrelated to actual military service - usually digging up potatoes in the field with zero wage cost. The Soviet planned economy system thus had no incentive to produce better combined harvesting machines and Soviet agriculture remained low-tech.

In Soviet-bloc Hungary, more than half of pre-1989 conscripts received a mere few weeks of rifle training and were swiftly assigned to "working squadrons" which usually hand-built rail tracks "for free", and in very poor quality. At the same time, railway tracks in Western Europe were being built to high-quality standards by semi-automatic, rail-rolling factories operated by a professional workforce.

These are examples of a "military" draft used to obtain involuntary labour.They also illustrate one key theme of Adam Smith and other liberal economists that Liberty is the key method of social improvement. When compulsion takes the place of free markets and free Labour the efficiency of the economy is reduced. Compulsion also means that the Wages and working conditions of the Workers is inferior. David Hume points out that this was illustrated by the press gang. The legalised abduction of citizens by the state makes for military inefficiency as well as economic inefficiency and a denial of Constitutional freedom. When Labour is too cheap it will be wasted as other commodities are and this is one reason for the collapse of Communism in the USSR.

Conscription - Discipline problems

No army can work without discipline. The discipline can either arise from the esprit de corps, motivation of the soldiers or be imposed and pressed on the troops. Volunteers seldom have disciplinary problems, but people pressed in the service against their will have little other motivation to serve than personal survival, and perhaps change to get to rape and loot enemy civilians. As motivation is based on coercion, the discipline on conscript armies is often harsh, and punishments severe. Capital punishment, usually by firing squad, is used almost universally to maintain discipline on conscription armies during the wartime. It is estimated the executions covered some 1% to 5% of all conscript losses in WWII. This can be best summarized by statement of Leon Trotsky: An army cannot be built without reprisals. Masses of men cannot be led to death unless the army command has the death penalty in its arsenal. So long as those malicious tailless apes that are so proud of their technical achievements — the animals that we call men — will build armies and wage wars, the command will always be obliged to place the soldiers between the possible death in the front and the inevitable one in the rear. As result, conscript armies are more likely to mutiny than all-volunteer forces, and like the Vlasov army, can in extreme cases turn against their own.

Conscription - The draft as nationalism

The military draft is predicated on the assumption that nations have rights that supersede those of the individual. In the words of Einstein and Gandhi's Anti-Conscription Manifesto, "The State which thinks itself entitled to force its citizens to go to war will never pay proper regard to the value and happiness of their lives in peace." The building of large conscript armies coincided with the rise of virulent nationalism in the 19th and 20th centuries.

Draftees can object being conscripted if they are separatists and do not want to support the armies of the state they oppose. On the other hand, some separatist fighters acquire their military skills in the army they will later fight against.

Conscription - The draft as justification for attacks on civilians

Conscription is a component of "total war," and can also be used as an example of established policy to justify a government's demand that other sacrifices be required of civilians. Once a draft is allowed, Justice Louis Brandeis argued, “all bets are off". Arguably this results in a blurring of the moral distinction between civilians and the military as legitimate military targets, leading to attacks on civilians. Examples would include the indiscriminate bombing of cities conducted by both sides during World War II, or the assertion by terrorist groups that civilians are legitimate targets.

Conscription - Questions of conscript quality

One of the objections raised is a conscripted force would be of lower quality than a volunteer army. First, short periods of service do not allow for much skill building. Second, there is a possibility of a morale drop in units with conscripts, leading to a reduction in quality as officers and NCO's work to alleviate those problems.

The biggest problem is that the pace of training has to be adjusted to the level of the lowest quality manpower. Combined with the short tour of duty, this renders the skills of the conscripts very low. Certain individuals with poor military and social skills may prove loose cannons in wartime, proving more a liability than an asset to the unit and perhaps risking the destruction of the whole unit. Therefore the elite units of all armies which have conscription, are composed entirely of selected volunteers, such as Parachute Rangers in the Finnish army.

Conscription - Economics

It can be argued that in a cost to benefit ratio conscription during peace time is not worthwhile. A number of months or years of service amongst the most fit subtracts from the productivity of the economy; add to this the cost of training them, and in some countries paying them. Compared to these extensive costs, some would argue there is very little benefit, if there ever were a war conscription and basic training could be completed quickly, and in most countries where conscription is compulsory there is little threat of war in any case.

Alternative theories suggest that readiness for war in times of crises require constant training or conscription. These fall under the category of "credible threat" recently popularized by 2005 Nobel economic laureates Robert Aumann and Thomas Schelling who were partially credited with the non-nuclear cold war between the United States and the former Soviet Union.

Particulary in times of military duress, such as the current U.S. conflict in Iraq, conscription serves as an instrument through which fresh soldiers may be readied when reserves and volutary troops have been overutilized. These new troops ultimately provide more efficient use of U.S. economic resources due to the fact that individuals plan for miliatry involvement as a normal activity. Draft assignments, in contrast, disrupt everyday activity and lead to possibly greater economic shock.

See also

• Antimilitarism
• Bevin Boys
• Conscientious objection
• Michel Foucault's theory of "disciplinary institutions"
• Impressment
• Indentured servant
• Involuntary servitude
• Machiavelli's thought on the superiority of conscription over mercenaries and professional armies.
• Military
• Military history
• Swiss Army
• National Service
• Rousseau, Jean-Jacques
• Timeline of women's participation in warfare
• Military recruitment