Conscription

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Conscription
Military service

National service
Conscription crisis
Conscientious objection

Civilian service
Conscription by country
v • d • e

Conscription is the compulsory enrollment of people to some sort of public service. While the service may be of any sort associated with the public, the term typically refers to enlistment in a country's military.[1] Conscription dates back to antiquity and continues in some countries to the present day under various names. Used by the Royal Navy between 1664 and 1814, it was called impressment, or "the press".[2] Most countries that maintain conscripts now refer to the practice as national service. In the United States, active conscription ended in 1973 but remains legally alive and in the national memory and is known colloquially as "the draft".

Conscription has historically focused on young men but the range of eligible ages may be expanded to meet national demand. In the United States, for instance, the Selective Service System drafted men for World War I initially in an age range from 21 to 30 but expanded its eligibility in 1918 to an age range of 18 to 45.[3] In the case of a widespread mobilization of forces where service includes homefront defense, ages of conscripts may range much higher, with the oldest conscripts serving in roles requiring lesser mobility. Expanded-age conscription was common during the Second World War: in the United Kingdom, it was commonly known as "call-up" and extended to age 55, while Nazi Germany termed it Volkssturm ("People's Storm") and included men as young as 16 and as old as 60.[4] The term of service is often initially set but includes the prospect of indefinite extension based on national requirements.

Conscription can be controversial, because conscripts may have religious, political or moral reasons for refusing to serve. When governments decide to ignore these objections, protests have occurred and conscripts have evaded their enlistment by emigrating.[5] Some selection systems accommodate these situations by providing forms of service outside of typical combat-operations roles or even outside of the military (e.g. Zivildienst in Germany, Austria and Switzerland).

As of the early twenty-first century, many nations no longer conscript soldiers and sailors, relying instead upon professional militaries with volunteers enlisted to meet extraordinary demand for troops. The ability to rely on such an arrangement, however, presupposes some degree of predictability with regards to both warfighting requirements and the scope of hostilities. Many nations that have abolished conscription therefore still reserve the power to resume it during wartime or times of crisis.[6]

Contents

[edit] History

[edit] Ilkum

Around the reign of Hammurabi (1792-1750 BC), the Babylonian Empire used a system of conscription called Ilkum. Under the system those eligible were required to serve in the royal army in time of war.[7] During times of peace they were instead required to provide labour for other activities of the state.[7] In return for this service, those subject to it gained the right to hold land.[7] It is possible that this right was not to hold land per se but specific land supplied by the state.[7]

Various forms of avoiding military service are recorded. While it was outlawed by the Code of Hammurabi, the hiring of substitutes appears to have been practiced both before and after the creation of the code.[8] Later records show that Ilkum commitments could become regularly traded.[8] In other places, people simply left their towns to avoid their Ilkum service.[8] Another option was to sell Ilkum lands and the commitments along with them. With the exception of a few exempted classes, this was forbidden by the Code of Hammurabi.[8]

[edit] Medieval levies

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Under the feudal conditions for holding land in the medieval period, most peasants and freemen were liable to provide one man of suitable age per family for military duty when required by either the king or the local lord. Those who refused became outlaws. The levies raised in this way fought as infantry under local superiors. This was essentially an early form of conscription. Although the exact laws varied greatly depending on the country and the period, generally these levies were only obliged to fight for one to three months. Most were subsistence farmers, and it was in everyone's interest to send the men home for harvest-time.

In medieval Scandinavia the 'leiðangr' (Old Norse), 'leidang' (Norwegian), 'leding', (Danish), 'ledung' (Swedish), 'expeditio' (Latin) or sometimes 'lething' (Old English), was a levy of free farmers conscripted into coastal fleets for seasonal excursions and in defence of the realm.

The bulk of the Anglo-Saxon English army, called the fyrd, was composed of part-time English soldiers drawn from the landowning minor nobility. These thegns were the land-holding aristocracy of the time and were required to serve with their own armour and weapons for a certain number of days each year. The historian David Sturdy has cautioned about regarding the fyrd as a precursor to a modern national army composed of all ranks of society, describing it as a "ridiculous fantasy":

The persistent old belief that peasants and small farmers gathered to form a national army or fyrd is a strange delusion dreamt up by antiquarians in the late eighteenth or early nineteenth centuries to justify universal military conscription.[9]

[edit] Military slavery

The system of military slaves was widely used in the Middle East, beginning with the Egyptians training Mamluks from the 9th century, to the Turks and Ottoman Empire through the 19th century.

In the middle of the 14th century, Ottoman Sultan Murad I developed personal troops to be loyal to him, with a slave army called the Kapıkulu. The new force was built by taking Christian children from newly conquered lands, especially from the far areas of his empire, in a system known as the devşirme (translated "gathering" or "converting"). The captive children were persuaded to convert to Islam. The Sultans had the young boys trained over several years. Those who showed special promise in fighting skills were trained in advanced warrior skills, put into the sultan's personal service, and turned into the Janissaries, the elite branch of the Kapıkulu. A number of distinguished military commanders of the Ottomans, and most of the imperial administrators and upper-level officials of the Empire, such as Pargalı İbrahim Pasha and Sokollu Mehmet Paşa, were recruited in this way.[10] By 1609 the Sultan's Kapıkulu forces increased to about 100,000.[11]

In later years, Sultans turned to the Barbary Pirates to supply their Jannissaries corps. Their attacks on ships off the coast of Africa or in the Mediterranean, and subsequent capture of able bodied men for ransom or sale provided some captives for the Sultan's system. Starting in the 17th century, Christian families living under the Ottoman rule began to submit their sons into the Kapikulu system willingly, as they saw this as a potentially invaluable career opportunity for their children. Eventually the Sultan turned to foreign volunteers from the warrior clans of Circassians in southern Russia to fill his Janissary armies. As a whole the system began to break down, the loyalty of the Jannissaries became increasingly suspect. Mahmud II forcibly disbanded the Janissary corps in 1826.[12][13]

Similar to the Janissaries in origin and means of development were the Mamluks of Egypt in the Middle Ages. The Mamluks were usually captive non-Muslim Iranian and Turkish children who had been kidnapped or bought as slaves from the Barbary coasts. The Egyptians assimilated and trained the boys and young men to become Islamic soldiers who served the Muslim caliphs and the Ayyubid sultans during the Middle Ages. The first mamluks served the Abbasid caliphs in 9th century Baghdad. Over time they became a powerful military caste. On more than one occasion, they seized power, for example, ruling Egypt from 1250–1517.

From 1250 Egypt had been ruled by the Bahri dynasty of Kipchak origin. Slaves from the Caucasus served in the army and formed an elite corp of troops. They eventually revolted in Egypt to form the Burgi dynasty. The Mamluks' excellent fighting abilities, massed Islamic armies, and overwhelming numbers succeeded in overcoming the Christian Crusader fortresses in the Holy Land. The Mamluks were the most successful defense against the Mongol Ilkhanate of Persia and Iraq from entering Egypt.[14]

On the western coast of Africa, Berber Muslims captured non-Muslims to put to work as laborers. They generally converted the younger people to Islam and many became quite assimilated. In Morocco, the Berber looked south rather than north. The Moroccan Sultan Moulay Ismail, called "the Bloodthirsty" (1672–1727), employed a corps of 150,000 black slaves, called his Black Guard. He used them to coerce the country into submission.[15]

[edit] Invention of modern conscription

Modern conscription, the massed military enlistment of national citizens (today recognized in the USA as "the draft"), was devised during the French Revolution, to enable the Republic to defend itself from the attacks of European monarchies. Deputy Jean-Baptiste Jourdan gave its name to the September 5, 1798 Act, whose first article stated: "Any Frenchman is a soldier and owes himself to the defense of the nation." It enabled the creation of the Grande Armée, what Napoleon Bonaparte called "the nation in arms," which overwhelmed European professional armies that often numbered only into the low tens of thousands. More than 2.6 million men were inducted into the French military in this way between the years 1800 and 1813.[16]

The defeat of the Prussian Army in particular shocked the Prussian establishment, which had believed it was invincible after the victories of Frederick the Great. The Prussians were used to relying on superior organization and tactical factors such as order of battle to focus superior troops against inferior ones. Given approximately equivalent forces, as was generally the case with professional armies, these factors showed considerable importance. However, they became considerably less important when the Prussian armies faced forces that outnumbered their own in some cases by more than ten to one. Scharnhorst advocated adopting the levée en masse, the military conscription used by France. The Krümpersystem was the beginning of short-term compulsory service in Prussia, as opposed to the long-term conscription previously used.[17]

In the Russian Empire, the military service time "owed" by serfs was 25 years at the beginning of the 19th century. In 1834 it was decreased to 20 years. The recruits were to be not younger than 17 and not older than 35.[18] In 1874 Russia introduced universal conscription in the modern pattern, an innovation only made possible by the abolition of serfdom in 1861. New military law decreed that all male Russian subjects, when they reached the age of 20, were eligible to serve in the military for six years.[19]

[edit] United States

[edit] Colonial and Early National

Colonial militia laws—and after independence those of the United States and the various states—required able-bodied males to enroll in the militia, to undergo a minimum of military training, and to serve for limited periods of time in war or emergency. This earliest form of conscription involved selective drafts of militiamen for service in particular campaigns. Following this system in its essentials, the Continental Congress in 1778 recommended that the states draft men from their militias for one year's service in the Continental army; this first national conscription was irregularly applied and failed to fill the Continental ranks. In 1814, President James Madison proposed conscription of 40,000 men for the army, but the War of 1812 ended before Congress took any action.

[edit] Civil War

Although both North and South resorted to conscription during the Civil War, in neither nation did the system work effectively. The Confederate congress on Apr. 16, 1862, passed an act requiring military service for three years from all males aged eighteen to thirty-five not legally exempt, and it later extended the obligation. The U.S. Congress followed on July 17, 1862, with an act authorizing a militia draft within a state when it could not meet its quota with volunteers. This state-administered system failed in practice and on Mar. 3, 1863, Congress passed the first genuine national conscription law, setting up under the Union army an elaborate machinery for enrolling and drafting men between twenty and forty-five years of age.

Quotas were assigned in each state, the deficiencies in volunteers to be met by conscription. But men drafted could provide substitutes or, until mid-1864, avoid service by paying commutation money. Many eligibles pooled their money to cover the cost of anyone drafted. Families used the substitute provision to select which man should go into the army and which should stay home. There was much evasion and overt resistance to the draft, especially in Catholic areas. The great draft riot in New York City in July 1863 involved Irish immigrants who had been signed up as citizens to swell the machine vote, not realizing it made them liable for the draft. Of the 168,649 men procured for the Union through the draft, 117,986 were substitutes, leaving only 50,663 who had their personal services conscripted.

The problem of Confederate desertion was aggravated by the inequitable inclinations of conscription officers and local judges. The three conscription acts of the Confederacy exempted certain categories, most notably the planter class, and enrolling officers and local judges often practiced favoritism, sometimes accepting bribes. Attempts to effectively deal with the issue were frustrated by conflict between state and local governments on the one hand and the national government of the Confederacy.[20]

[edit] Recent

On July 15, 2010, Congressman Charles B. Rangel, a Korean War veteran, introduced H.R. 5741 which if passed would "require all persons in the United States between the ages of 18 and 42 to perform national service, either as a member of the uniformed services or in civilian service in furtherance of the national defense and homeland security."

[edit] Drafting of women

As of 2010, countries that were drafting women into military service included Benin[21], Chad[22], China,[23], Cuba[24], Egypt[25], Eritrea[23][25][26], Israel[23][25][27], Libya[23][28], Malaysia[23][25], North Korea[23][25][29], Peru[23][25], Taiwan[23][25][(see discussion) verification needed], Tunisia,[25], Côte d'Ivoire[citation needed], and Mongolia[citation needed]. In the United Kingdom during World War II, beginning in 1941, women were brought into the scope of conscription but, as all women with dependent children were exempt and many women were informally left in occupations such as nursing or teaching, the number conscripted was relatively few.[30]

In the USSR, there was no systematic conscription of women for the armed forces, but the severe disruption of normal life and the high proportion of civilians affected by World War II after the German invasion attracted many volunteers for what was termed "The Great Patriotic War".[31] Medical doctors of both genders could and would be conscripted (as officers). Also, the free Soviet university education system required Department of Chemistry students of both sexes to complete an ROTC course in NBC defense, and such female reservist officers could be conscripted in times of war. The United States came close to drafting women into the Nurse Corps in preparation for a planned invasion of Japan.[32][33]

In 1981 in the United States, several men filed lawsuit in the case Rostker v. Goldberg, alleging that the Selective Service Act of 1948 violates the Due Process Clause of the Fifth Amendment by only requiring that men register with the Selective Service System (SSS). The Supreme Court eventually upheld the Act, stating that "the argument for registering women was based on considerations of equity, but Congress was entitled, in the exercise of its constitutional powers, to focus on the question of military need, rather than 'equity.'"[34]

On October 1, 1999 in the Taiwan Area, the Judicial Yuan of the Republic of China in its Interpretation 490 considered that the physical differences between males and females and the derived role differentiation in their respective social functions and lives would not make drafting males only violating the Constitution of the Republic of China.[35][(see discussion) verification needed] Though women are conscripted in Taiwan, transsexual persons are exempt.[36]

Traditionally conscription has been limited to the male population, as males have been warriors. Women and handicapped males have been exempted from conscription. Many societies have traditionally considered military service as a test of manhood and a rite of passage from boyhood into manhood.[37][38]

[edit] Conscientious objection

Main articles: Conscientious objection, Antimilitarism, and Conscientious objection throughout the world

A conscientious objector is an individual whose personal beliefs are incompatible with military service, or sometimes with any role in the armed forces. In some countries, conscientious objectors have special legal status, which augments their conscription duties. For example, Sweden allows conscientious objectors to choose a service in the "weapons-free" branch, such as an airport fireman, nurse or telecommunications technician.

Some may also refuse such service as they feel that they still are a part of the military complex. The reasons for refusing to serve are varied. Some conscientious objectors are so for religious reasons — notably, the members of the historic peace churches are pacifist by doctrine, and Jehovah's Witnesses, while not strictly speaking pacifists, refuse to participate in the armed services on the grounds that they believe Christians should be neutral in worldly conflicts.

[edit] Evading the draft

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Main article: Draft dodger

Historically, there has been resistance to conscription in almost every country and situation where it has been imposed.[citation needed] The New York Draft Riots (July 11 to July 16, 1863; known at the time as Draft Week), were violent disturbances in New York City that were the culmination of discontent with new laws passed by Congress to draft men to fight in the ongoing American Civil War. The Central Asian Revolt started in the summer of 1916, when the Russian Empire government ended its exemption of Muslims from military service. The conscription also became unpopular in Grand Duchy of Finland during the reign of Nicholas II and was suspended; instead Finland paid a levy tax, "military millions" as compensation for abolition of conscription.

In the USA and some other countries, the Vietnam War saw new levels of opposition to conscription and the Selective Service System. Many people opposed to and facing conscription chose to either apply for classification and assignment to civilian alternative service or noncombatant service within the military as conscientious objectors, or to evade the draft by fleeing to a neutral country. A small proportion, like Muhammad Ali, chose to resist the draft by publicly and politically fighting conscription. Some people resist at the point of registration for the draft. In the USA since 1980, for example, the draft resistance movement has focused on mandatory draft registration. Others resist at the point of induction, when they are ordered to put on a uniform, when they are ordered to carry or use a weapon, or when they are ordered into combat.

In the United States, especially during the Vietnam Era, some used political connections to ensure that they were placed well away from any potential harm, serving in what was termed a Champagne unit. Many would avoid military service altogether through college deferments, by becoming fathers, or serving in various exempt jobs (teaching was one possibility). Others used educational exemptions, became conscientious objectors or pretended to be conscientious objectors, although they might then be drafted for non-combat work, such as serving as a combat medic. It was also possible they could be asked to do similar civilian work, such as being a hospital orderly.

It was, in fact, quite easy for those with some knowledge of the system to avoid being drafted. A simple route, widely publicized, was to get a medical rejection. While a person could claim to have symptoms (or feign homosexuality) if enough physicians sent letters that a person had a problem, he might well be rejected. It often wasn't worth the Army's time to dispute this claim. Such an approach worked best in a larger city where there was no stigma to not serving, and the potential draftee was not known to those reviewing him.

For others, the most common method of avoiding the draft was to cross the border into another country. People who have been "called up" for military service and who attempted to avoid it in some way were known as "draft-dodgers". Particularly during the Vietnam War, US draft-dodgers usually made their way to Canada, Mexico or Sweden.

Many people looked upon draft-dodgers with scorn as being "cowards", but some supported them in their efforts. In the late years of the Vietnam War, objections against it and support for draft-dodgers was much more outspoken, because of the casualties suffered by American troops, and the actual cause and purpose of the war being heavily questioned.

Toward the end of the US draft, an attempt was made to make the system somewhat fairer by turning it into a lottery, with each of the year's calendar dates randomly assigned a number. Men born on lower numbered dates were called up for review. For the reasons given above, this did not make the system any fairer, and the entire system ended in 1973. Today, American men 18-25 are required to register with the government, but there has not been a callup since the Vietnam Era.

There are those who are immune to the draft in certain countries; these people include anyone[citation needed] who works for the government (teachers, police officers, lawmakers, etc.), people who work for government contractors, and those who work in jobs essential to the operation of the country (waste management, power plants, etc.). In the United Kingdom this is known as a reserved occupation which is deemed necessary to the survival of the nation.

In Israel, the Muslim and Christian Arab minority are exempt from mandatory service, as are permanent residents such as the Druze of the Golan Heights. Ultra-Orthodox Jews may apply for a deferment of draft to study in Yeshiva, but once they are finished studying, they are required to do national or army service. Male Druze and Circassian Israeli citizens are liable, by agreement with their community leaders. Members of the exempted groups can still volunteer, but very few do, except for the Bedouin where a relatively large number have tended to volunteer.

[edit] Countries with and without mandatory military service

Main article: Military service
Conscription by country — Examples
Country Land area (km2) [39] GDP nominal (US$M)[40] Per capita
GDP (US$)[41]		 Population[42] Government[43] Conscription[44]
Albania 27,398 $10,620 $2,949.57 3,619,778 Emerging Democracy Yes
Algeria 2,381,740 $131,600 $3,948.01 33,769,668 Republic Yes
Angola 1,246,700 $61,360 $5,003.43 12,531,357 Republic; Multiparty Presidential Regime Yes
Argentina 2,736,690 $260,000 $6,451.30 40,482,000 Republic Voluntary; conscription may be ordered for specified reasons; per Public Law No.24.429 promulgated on 5 January 1995.
Australia 7,617,930 $908,800 $44,474.51 21,007,310 Federal Parliamentary Democracy No (abolished by parliament in 1972)[45]
Austria 82,444 $373,900 $45,598.77 8,205,533 Federal Republic Yes (Alternative service available[citation needed])
Bahamas 10,070 $6,586, $21,547.17 307,451 Constitutional Parliamentary Democracy No
Bangladesh 133,910 $72,420 $481.36 153,546,896 Parliamentary Democracy No
Belgium 30,278 $453,600 $43,648.01 10,403,951 Federal Parliamentary Democracy under Constitutional Monarchy No (conscription abolished as of 1 January 1994)
Belize 22,806 $1,274 $4,327.67 301,270 Parliamentary Democracy Military service is voluntary
Bhutan 47,000 $1,308 $561.89 682,321 In Transition to Constitutional Monarchy; special treaty relationship with India Yes (selective)
Bolivia 1,084,390 $13,190 $1,446.41 9,247,816 Republic Yes (when annual number of volunteers falls short of goal[46])
Bosnia and Herzegovina 51,197 $14,780 $3,246.78 4,590,310 Emerging Federal Democratic Republic No (Abolished on January 1, 2006.)[citation needed]
Brazil 8,456,510 $1,314,000 $6,915.40 196,342,592 Federal republic Yes
Bulgaria 110,550 $39,610 $5,409.09 7,262,675 parliamentary democracy No (abolished by law on January 1, 2008[47])
Burma 657,740 $13,530 $285.60 47,758,180 Military Junta No

Officially prohibited, de facto still practiced[48][49][50][51]
China, People's Republic of 9,326,410 $3,251,000 $2,459.43 1,330,044,544 Communist State Yes(Selective)
Croatia 56,414 $51,360 $11,430.32 4,491,543 presidential/parliamentary democracy No (abolished by law in 2008)[52]
Cuba 110,860 $45,580 $4,000.34 11,423,952 Communist state Yes
Denmark 42,394 $311,900 $57,039.71 5,484,723 constitutional monarchy Yes (Alternative service available[citation needed])
Djibouti 22,980 $841 $1,694.29 506,221 republic No
El Salvador 20,720 $20,370 $2,931.75 7,066,403 republic Legal, not practiced
Finland 304,473 $245,000 $46,769.47 5,244,749 republic Yes (Alternative service available)
France 640,053[53] $2,560,000 $35,240.62 61,037,510 republic No (suspended in 2001)[54]
Gambia, The 10,000 $653 $386.77 1,735,464 republic No
Germany 349,223 $3,322,000 $40,315.05 82,369,552 federal republic Yes (Alternative service available[55])
Greece 130,800 $314,600 $29,384.60 10,722,816 parliamentary republic Yes
Grenada 344 $590 $6,557.67 90,343 parliamentary democracy No (no military service)
Hungary 92,340 $138,400 $13,901.01 9,930,915 parliamentary democracy No (Peacetime conscription abolished in 2004[56])
India 2,973,190 $1,099,000 $972.68 1,147,995,904 federal republic No
Indonesia 1,826,440 $432,900 $1,844.53 237,512,352 republic selective
Iran 1,636,000 $294,100 $4,497.11 65,875,224 theocratic republic Yes
Israel 20,330 $161,900 $25,191.86 7,112,359 parliamentary democracy Yes (Israeli Arabs and Haredi Jews exempted[citation needed])
Jamaica 10,831 $11,210 $4,032.18 2,804,332 constitutional parliamentary democracy No
Japan 374,744 $4,384,000 $34,402.26 127,288,416 constitutional monarchy with a parliamentary government No
Jordan 91,971 $16,010 $2,644.89 6,198,677 constitutional monarchy Uncertain[57]
Korea, North 120,410 $25,960 $1,114.08 23,479,088 Communist state one-man dictatorship Yes[58]
Korea, South 98,190 $957,100 $19,514.81 48,379,392 republic Yes (Alternative service available[citation needed])
Kuwait 17,820 $111,300 $44,421.22 2,596,799 constitutional emirate Yes
Lebanon 10,230 $24,640 $6,276.90 3,971,941 republic No (abolished in 2007)[59]
Libya 1,759,540 $57,060 $9,451.85 6,173,579 Jamahiriya (a state of the masses) in theory, governed by the populace through local councils; in practice, an authoritarian state Yes
Lithuania 65,300[60] $38,350 $10,725.96 3,565,205 parliamentary democracy No (Suspended on September 15, 2008)[61]
Luxembourg 2,586 $50,160 $104,451.69 486,006 constitutional monarchy No
Macedonia, Republic of 24,856 $7,497 $3,646.55 2,061,315 parliamentary democracy No (abolished in 2006)[62]
Malaysia 328,550 $186,500 $7,513.71 25,274,132 constitutional monarchy No
Maldives 300 $1,049 $2,842.58 385,925 republic No
Malta 316 $7,419 $18,460.73 403,532 republic No
Mexico 1,923,040 $893,400 $8,218.88 109,955,400 federal republic Yes
Moldova 33,371 $4,227 $978.36 4,324,450 republic Yes
Nepal 143,181 $9,627 $333.09 29,519,114 democratic republic No
Netherlands 33,883 $768,700 $46,389.35 16,645,313 constitutional monarchy Legal, suspended since 1997 [63]
See also: Conscription in the Netherlands
New Zealand 268,021 $128,100 $31,124.18 4,173,460 parliamentary democracy No
Pakistan 778,720 $143,800 $872.88 172,800,048 federal republic No
Philippines 298,170 $144,100 $1,582.17 96,061,680 republic Legal[64]. Practiced selectively and only rarely[65]
Poland 304,459 $420,300 $10,911.71 38,500,696 republic No[66]
Qatar 11,437 $67,760 $74,688.97 824,789 emirate No
Romania 230,340 $166,000 $7,451.95 22,246,862 republic No (ended in 2007)[67]
Russia 16,995,800 $1,290,000 $9,124.49 140,702,096 federation Yes (Alternative service available)
Rwanda 24,948 $3,320 $335.10 10,186,063 republic; presidential, multiparty system No
Saudi Arabia 2,149,690 $376,000 $13,622.68 28,146,656 monarchy No
Seychelles 455 $710 $8,669.64 82,247 republic Yes
Singapore 682.7 $161,300 $35,427.12 4,608,167 parliamentary republic Yes
Slovenia 20,151 $46,080 $22,933.99 2,007,711 parliamentary republic No[68]
South Africa 1,219,912 $282,600 $6,423.04 48,782,756 republic No
Spain 499,542 $1,439,000 $35,576.37 40,491,052 parliamentary monarchy No (abolished by law on December 31, 2001)[69]
Syria 184,050 $37,760 $1,954.98 19,747,586 republic under an authoritarian military-dominated regime Yes
Swaziland 17,203 $2,936 $2,591.20 1,128,814 monarchy No
Switzerland 39,770 $423,900 $56,111.06 7,581,520 formally a confederation but similar in structure to a federal republic Yes (alternative service available[citation needed])
Taiwan (Republic of China) [70] 32,260 $383,300 $16,768.11 22,920,946 multiparty democracy Yes (alternative service available[71])

An all-volunteer force is planned by the end of 2014, but conscription will remain in practice thereafter.[72]
Thailand 511,770 $245,700 $3,776.0 65,493,296 constitutional monarchy Yes
Tonga 718 $219 $1,873.06 119,009 constitutional monarchy No
Trinidad and Tobago 5,128 $20,700 $19,590.99 1,047,366 parliamentary democracy No
Turkey 770,760 $663,400 $9,322.83 71,892,808 republican parliamentary democracy Yes
United Kingdom 241,590 $2,773,000, $45,626.38 60,943,912 constitutional monarchy No (except Bermuda Regiment)
United States 9,161,923 $13,840,000 $45,958.70 303,824,640 Constitution-based federal republic; strong democratic tradition No[73] Registration remains required.
Vanuatu 12,200 $455 $2,146.52 215,446 parliamentary republic No
Venezuela 882,050 $236,400 $9,084.09 26,414,816 federal republic Yes[74][75]

[edit] Conscription by jurisdiction

[edit] Arguments against conscription

[edit] Slavery

Some groups, such as libertarians, say that the draft constitutes slavery, since it involves the State taking ownership of the subject's life and labor.[76]

[edit] Economics

It can be argued that in a cost-to-benefit ratio, conscription during peace time is not worthwhile.[77] Months or years of service amongst the most fit and capable 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 was a war then conscription and basic training could be completed quickly, and in any case there is little threat of a war in most countries with conscription. In the United States, every male resident must register with the Selective Service System on his 18th birthday, so he is available for a draft.

The cost of conscription can be related to the parable of the broken window. Military service can be related to any other work, such as that of policemen. The costs of work do not disappear anywhere even if no salary is paid. The work effort of the conscripts is effectively wasted; an unwilling workforce is extremely inefficient and the conscripts also lose the costs of an all-volunteer paid force. The impact is especially severe in wartime, when civilian professionals are forced to fight as amateur soldiers. Not only is the work effort of the conscripts wasted and productivity lost, but professionally-skilled conscripts are also difficult to replace in the civilian workforce. Every soldier conscripted in the army is taken away from his civilian work, and away from contributing to the economy which funds the military. This is not a problem in an agrarian or pre-industrialized state where the level of education is universally low, and where a worker is easily replaced by another. However, this proves extremely problematic in a post-industrial society where educational levels are high and where the workforce is highly sophisticated and a replacement for a conscripted specialist is difficult to find. Even direr economic consequences result if the professional conscripted as an amateur soldier is killed or maimed for life; his work effort and productivity is irrevocably lost.[78]

[edit] Arguments for conscription

[edit] Political and moral motives

Further information: Social contract, Social solidarity, Means of protection, and Active citizenship

Jean Jacques Rousseau argued vehemently against professional armies, feeling it was the right and privilege of every citizen to participate to the defense 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.[79] Similarly, Aristotle linked the division of armed service among the populace intimately with the political order of the state.[80] Niccolò Machiavelli argued strongly for conscription, seeing the professional armies as the cause of the failure of societal unity in Italy.

Other proponents such as the late William James consider both mandatory military and national service as ways of instilling maturity in young adults.[81] Some proponents such as Jonathan Alter and Mickey Kaus support a draft in order to reinforce social equality, create social consciousness, break down class divisions and for have young adults to immerse themselves in public enterprise.[82][83][84]

[edit] Economic & resource efficiency

Further information: Industrial warfare, Total war, and War effort

It is estimated by the British military that in a professional military, one company deployed for active duty in peacekeeping corresponds to three inactive companies at home. Salaries for each are paid from the military budget. In contrast, volunteers from a trained reserve are in their civilian jobs when they are not deployed.[85]

[edit] Related concepts

[edit] See also

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Conscription

[edit] References

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  2. ^ Hickox, Rex (2007), All You Wanted to Know about 18th Century Royal Navy, Lulu.com, ISBN 1411630572  Pages 16 - 19
  3. ^ Records of the Selective Service System (World War I) ; see also Selective Service Act of 1917 and Selective Training and Service Act of 1940.
  4. ^ "The German Volkssturm" from Intelligence Bulletin, February 1945, lonesentry.com.
  5. ^ Seeking Sanctuary: Draft Dodgers, CBC Digital Archives.
  6. ^ "World War II", The Canadian Encyclopedia.
  7. ^ a b c d Postgate, J.N. (1992), Early Mesopotamia Society and Economy at the Dawn of History, Routledge, p. 242, ISBN 0415110327 
  8. ^ a b c d Postgate, J.N. (1992), Early Mesopotamia Society and Economy at the Dawn of History, Routledge, p. 243, ISBN 0415110327 
  9. ^ Sturdy, David Alfred the Great Constable (1995), p153
  10. ^ Bernard Lewis. Race and Slavery in the Middle East, Chapter readings for class at Fordham University
  11. ^ "In the Service of the State and Military Class"
  12. ^ Janissary corps, or Janizary, or Yeniçeri (Turkish military), Encyclopædia Britannica
  13. ^ Janissaries
  14. ^ The Mamluk (Slave) Dynasty (Timeline), Sunnah Online
  15. ^ Lewis. Race and Slavery in the Middle East, Oxford Univ Press, 1994.
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  17. ^ Dierk Walter. Preussische Heeresreformen 1807–1870: Militärische Innovation und der Mythos der "Roonschen Reform". 2003, in Citino, p. 130
  18. ^ Military service in Russia Empire
  19. ^ Conscription and Resistance: The Historical Context (archived from the original on 2008-06-03)
  20. ^ * Albert Burton Moore. Conscription and Conflict in the Confederacy 1924 online edition
  21. ^ CIA World Factbook: Benin
  22. ^ CIA World Factbook: Chad
  23. ^ a b c d e f g h CBC News Indepth: International military
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  25. ^ a b c d e f g h The Economic Costs and the Political Allure of Conscription (see footnote 3)
  26. ^ Cia World Factbook: Eritrea
  27. ^ CIA World Factbook: Israel
  28. ^ CIA World Factbook: Libya
  29. ^ CIA World Factbook: North Korea
  30. ^ Roger Broad (2006), Conscription in Britain, 1939–1964: the militarisation of a generation, Taylor & Francis, p. 244, ISBN 9780714657011, http://books.google.com/?id=NWAzKA6ihUEC. 
    ^ Conscription into military service, Peace Pledge Union, http://www.ppu.org.uk/learn/infodocs/st_conscription_l.html. 
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  33. ^ Kalisch, PA; Kalisch PA, Kalisch BJ (1973), "The women's draft. An analysis of the controversy over the nurses' Selective Service Bill of 1945.", Nursing research (PubMed) 22 (5): 402–13, PMID 4580476, http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/4580476, retrieved 2008-08-12 
  34. ^ Rostker v. Goldberg, Cornell Law School, retrieved 26 December 2006.
  35. ^ Judicial Yuan Interpretation 490 translated by Jiunn-rong Yeh
  36. ^ (Chinese)Attachment of the standard of the class of physical condition of a draftee, Conscription Agency, Ministry of the Interior
  37. ^ Ben Shephard (2003), A War of Nerves: Soldiers and Psychiatrists in the Twentieth Century, Harvard University Press, p. 18, ISBN 9780674011199, http://books.google.com/?id=We1HZDUTpdEC 
  38. ^ Carol R. Ember; Melvin Ember (2003), Encyclopedia of sex and gender: men and women in the world's cultures, Volume 2, Springer, pp. 108–109, ISBN 9780306477706, http://books.google.com/?id=oGasFR3USxYC .
  39. ^ Nationmaster: Land area. SOURCE: All CIA World Factbooks 18 December 2003 to 18 December 2008.
  40. ^ Nationmaster: GDP. SOURCE: All CIA World Factbooks 18 December 2003 to 18 December 2008
  41. ^ Nationmaster: Per capita GDP. SOURCE: All CIA World Factbooks 18 December 2003 to 18 December 2008.
  42. ^ Nationmaster: Population. SOURCE: World Development Indicators database and CIA World Factbooks.
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  45. ^ Conscription was abolished by law in 1973. But the Defence Act 1903 as amended retained a provision that it could be reintroduced by proclamation of the Governor-General. Potentially all Australian residents between the ages of 18 and 60 could be called up in this way. However, the Defence Legislation Amendment Act 1992 further provided that any such proclamation is of no effect until it is approved by both Houses of Parliament. Though actual legislation is not required, the effect of this provision is to make the introduction of conscription impossible without the approval of both the Senate and the House of Representatives, Gary Brown (October 12, 1999). "Current Issues Brief 7 1999–2000 — Military Conscription: Issues for Australia". Parliamentary library; Foreign Affairs, Defence and Trade Group. http://www.aph.gov.au/library/pubs/cib/1999-2000/2000cib07.htm. Retrieved 2007-08-10. 
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  47. ^ Country report and updates: Bulgaria22 October 2008, War Resisters' International, 22 Octobar 2008, http://www.wri-irg.org/programmes/world_survey/country_report/en/Bulgaria 
  48. ^ Burma: World's Highest Number of Child Soldiers, Human rights Watch, October 15, 2002, http://www.hrw.org/en/news/2002/10/15/burma-worlds-highest-number-child-soldiers 
  49. ^ Six Youths Conscripted into Burmese Army, Narinjara News, August 4, 2009, http://www.bnionline.net/news/narinjara/6791-six-youths-conscripted-into-burmese-army.html 
  50. ^ Arakanese Youth Arrested and Conscripted by Burmese Army, War Resisters' International, June 19, 2009, http://www.wri-irg.org/node/8111 
  51. ^ Six Youths Conscripted into Burmese Army, Narinjara, August 4, 2009, http://www.narinjara.com/details.asp?id=2293 
  52. ^ "Croatia to abolish conscription military service sooner", Southeast European Times, May 10, 2007, http://www.setimes.com/cocoon/setimes/xhtml/en_GB/newsbriefs/setimes/newsbriefs/2007/10/05/nb-07, retrieved 2008-05-30 
  53. ^ Includes the overseas regions of French Guiana, Guadeloupe, Martinique, and Reunion. "France", CIA World Factbook, https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/fr.html, retrieved 2008-04-09 
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  55. ^ §§ 14 ff. ZDG
  56. ^ Country report and updates: Hungary, War Resisters' International, October 23, 2008, http://www.wri-irg.org/programmes/world_survey/country_report/en/Hungary 
  57. ^ Data from the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, Geneva, Switzerland, 1997 indicates that Conscript Service was suspended indefinitely in 1992 and all members of the armed forces are regular volunteers. The CIA World Factbook entry for Jordan indicates based on 2004 data that conscription at age 18 was suspended in 1999, although all males under age 37 are required to register. The Child Soldiers Global Report 2008 indicates, citing "Mustafa al-Riyalat, Representatives agree flag and reserve la, ad-Dustour, April 2007", that compulsory Military Service Act No. 23 of 1986 put the minimum age limit at 18 and that this would be retained in the 2007 amendments.
  58. ^ "North Korea, Military Conscription and Terms of Service". Based on the Country Studies Series by Federal Research Division of the Library of Congress. http://www.country-data.com/cgi-bin/query/r-9627.html. Retrieved 2007-08-12. .
  59. ^ "Lebanon", CIA World Factbook, https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/le.html, retrieved 2008-05-30 
  60. ^ CIA Factbook: Lithuania
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  62. ^ Macedonia: Conscription abolished, War Resisters' International, 1 June 2006, http://www.wri-irg.org/node/916 
  63. ^ Conscription still exists, but the compulsory attendance was held in abeyance per January 1, 1997 (effective per August 22, 1996), (unknown) (October 12, 1999). "Afschaffing dienstplicht". Tweede Kamer (Dutch House of Representatives) and the Koninklijke Bibliotheek (Royal Dutch Library). http://www.statengeneraaldigitaal.nl/thema_dienstplicht.html. Retrieved 2009-07-27. 
  64. ^ Article II Section 4 of The Philippine Constitution reads, "The prime duty of the Government is to serve and protect the people. The Government may call upon the people to defend the State and, in the fulfillment thereof, all citizens may be required, under conditions provided by law, to render personal, military or civil service."
  65. ^ Country report and updates: Philippines, War Resisters' international, April 14, 1998, http://www.wri-irg.org/programmes/world_survey/country_report/en/Philippines§ military service 
  66. ^ "Poland's defence minister, Bogdan Klich, said the country will move towards a professional army and that from January, only volunteers will join the armed forces.", Matthew Day (5 August 2008), Poland ends army conscription, telegraph.co.uk, http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/poland/2505447/Poland-ends-army-conscription.html, retrieved 2009-02-11 
  67. ^ Background Note: Romania, Bureau of European and Eurasian Affairs, US Department ofState, April 2008, http://www.state.gov/r/pa/ei/bgn/35722.htm, retrieved 2008-05-30 
  68. ^ Changing the Way Slovenia Sees the Armed Forces, slonews, November 18, 2003, http://slonews.sta.si/index.php?id=1542&s=61, retrieved 2009-10-13 
  69. ^ Cuenta atrás para que el último recluta vaya a la mili, November 9, 2000, http://aula2.el-mundo.es/aula/noticia.php/2000/11/09/aula973701814.html 
  70. ^ "Taiwan". CIA World Factbook. https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/tw.html. Retrieved 2007-12-09.  (estimates based on 2006 data)
  71. ^ Substitute Service Center, Department Of Compulsory Military Service, Taipei City Government, http://english.taipei.gov.tw/docms/index.jsp?categid=2073&recordid=1347, retrieved July 25, 2008 
  72. ^ Jimmy Chuang (March 10, 2009), "Professional military by 2014: MND", Taipei Times, http://www.taipeitimes.com/News/taiwan/archives/2009/03/10/2003438077 .
  73. ^ The United States abandoned the draft in 1973 under President Richard Nixon, ended the Selective Service registration requirement in 1975 under President Gerald Ford, and then re-instated the Selective Service registration requirement in 1980 under President Jimmy Carter. Today the U.S. Selective Service System remains as a contingency, should a military draft be re-introduced. For more information see the U.S. Selective Service System website.
  74. ^ CONSTITUTION OF THE BOLIVARIAN R E P U B L I C OF VENEZUELA. analitica.com. December 20, 1999 (Promulgation date). http://www.analitica.com/bitblioteca/venezuela/constitucion_ingles.pdf. Retrieved 2009-11-01. (Articles 134, 135). 
  75. ^ Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada (18 December 2003), Venezuela: Military service, including length of service, existence of alternative forms of service and penalties imposed on those who refuse to serve, U.N. Refugee Agency, http://www.unhcr.org/refworld/country,,IRBC,,VEN,4562d94e2,403dd226c,0.html, retrieved 2009-11-01 
  76. ^ U.S. Representative Ron Paul Conscription Is Slavery, antiwar.com, January 14, 2003.
  77. ^ Henderson, David R. "The Role of Economists in Ending the Draft" (August 2005).
  78. ^ Milton Friedman (1967). "Why Not a Volunteer Army?". New Individualist Review. http://oll.libertyfund.org/?option=com_staticxt&staticfile=show.php%3Ftitle=2136&chapter=195469&layout=html&Itemid=27#c_NIR_1360-016_footnote_nt1046. Retrieved 9 11 2008. 
  79. ^ Rousseau, J-J. Social Contract. Chapter "The Roman Comitia"
  80. ^ Aristotle, Politics, Book 6 Chapter VII and Book 4 Chapter XIII.
  81. ^ The Moral Equivalent of War - William James, 1906
  82. ^ Cop Out on Class-Jonathan Alter
  83. ^ Interview with Mickey Kaus
  84. ^ Overcoming Merit- Virginia Postrel
  85. ^ Gustav Hägglund (2006) (in Finnish), Leijona ja kyyhky, Otava, ISBN 9511211617 

[edit] Further reading

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