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European civil–military relations in transition: The decline of conscription

Armed Forces and Conflict Resolution: Sociological Perspectives

ISBN: 978-1-8485-5122-0, eISBN: 978-1-84855-123-7

Publication date: 15 October 2008

Abstract

Many European nations today are willing to give up conscription system. In some other countries a more or less heated debate on maintaining or abandoning conscription has begun. Those countries that hold conscription have significantly reduced the share of conscripts in their armed forces. In our paper, we will argue and demonstrate that conscription has in fact had its day in most European nations. The data base for this paper is twofold. On one hand, we base ourselves on data from the annually published Military Balance of the London International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS). On the other hand, we base ourselves on an expert survey among European countries that was conducted in 2001 and has been updated in the year 2005. One major reason for the move from conscript armies to all-volunteer forces seems to be due to the geopolitical changes which have taken place since the end of the Cold War. Another reason is the increasing number of regional conflicts and the ensuing operations abroad. Thirdly, Europe is undergoing a significant social change with an increasing pluralization of life styles and value cultures. The continuing individualization diminishes the willingness for an unconditional commitment to the state. This leads us to the aspect of burden-sharing equality. Where only a constantly diminishing minority of eligible and able young men is drafted, the issue of who has to serve and who does not becomes significant and can produce massive pressure to abolish conscription.

Citation

Haltiner, K.W. and Szvircsev Tresch, T. (2008), "European civil–military relations in transition: The decline of conscription", Caforio, G., Kümmel, G. and Purkayastha, B. (Ed.) Armed Forces and Conflict Resolution: Sociological Perspectives (Contributions to Conflict Management, Peace Economics and Development, Vol. 7), Emerald Group Publishing Limited, Leeds, pp. 165-182. https://doi.org/10.1016/S1572-8323(08)07010-0

Publisher

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Emerald Group Publishing Limited

Copyright © 2008, Emerald Group Publishing Limited