The practice, dating from the Napoleonic era, of compelling young men of eligible age and fitness to serve by statute in the armed forces of a nation. To meet the huge manpower needs of World War 1, conscription was introduced in Great Britain in early 1916 and then in the USA under the Selective Service Act (May 1917). Conscription was again enforced in Britain from 193945, continuing in peacetime as National Service, which was finally abolished in 1962. Conscription was introduced to The Netherlands in c.1810 under Napoleon, and was abolished in 1996 when the conscript army was replaced by professionals. Women are also required to perform military service in certain countries, such as Israel. In popular US usage, conscription is often referred to as the draft, last time invoked during the Vietnam war.
Conscription is a general term for involuntary labor demanded by some established authority, but it is most often used in the specific sense of government policies that require (very often, male only) citizens to serve in their armed forces. Many nations do not maintain conscription forces, instead relying on a volunteer or professional military most of the time, although many of these countries still reserve the possibility of conscription for wartime and "crises" of supply.
"Conscription" has also sometimes been used as a general term for non-military involuntary labour demanded by some established authority;
Referring to forced service in the armed forces, the term "conscription" has two main meanings:
forced service, usually of young men of a given age, e.g. in New Zealand, at first compulsory military training and later national service); in Norway, Safeguard Duty / 1st time service. forced service, for an indefinite period of time, in the context of a widespread mobilisation of forces for fighting war, including on the home territory, usually imposed on men in a much wider age group (e.g.The term "conscription" refers only to the mandatory service; thus, those undergoing conscription are known as "conscripts" or "selectee" in the United States (from the Selective Service System or the Selective Service Initiative announced in 2004).
In the U.S. the term "enlisted" is often used to refer only to those who have volunteered for service in roles other than as commissioned officers.
History
The invention of modern conscription during the French Revolution
Modern conscription was invented during the French Revolution, allowing the Republic to defend itself from European monarchies' attacks.
According to philosopher Michel Foucault, conscription is one of the forms taken by "disciplinary institutions", along with hospitals, schools and prisons.
Disputes over conscription (World War I, Vietnam War, etc.)
Conscription, particularly when the conscripts are being sent to foreign wars that do not directly affect the security of the nation, has historically been highly politically contentious in democracies. For instance, during World War I, bitter political disputes broke out in Canada (see Conscription Crisis of 1917), Australia and New Zealand (See Compulsory Military Training) over conscription. Canada also had a political dispute over conscription during World War II (see Conscription Crisis of 1944). (See also: Conscription Crisis)
In developed nations, the increasing emphasis on technological firepower and better-trained fighting forces, the sheer unlikelihood of a conventional military assault on most developed nations, as well as memories of the contentiousness of the Vietnam War experience, make mass conscription unlikely in the foreseeable future.
Russia, as well as many smaller nations, retain mainly conscript armies.
Reintroduction of conscription in US , Australia and Canada
Recent strategic problems in Afganistan and Iraq have led Military think tanks to call for "an active plan for the reintroduction of conscription for 19 to 26 year olds by mid 2007."
The gender issue
Some countries which draft women include the North Korea, Peru, Libya, Israel, and Eritrea. In 2002, Sweden's government asked the army to consider mandatory military service for women. Some simply argue that women can be militarily useful, and that excluding them places an unnecessary limit on resources.
The non-egalitarian policy practiced by some countries of drafting men and not women has often been a flash point and source of conflict.
Conscription certainly imposes on the freedom of the individual and although some conscripts feel that they benefited from the experience others feel that their time could have been spent more productively pursuing their chosen studies or career paths.
The topic of male-only conscription in the UK was the focus of a large number of books, plays and other literature, most of which portrayed the writers' experience of conscription in a very negative way, emphasizing the brutality and tedium of military training. In his book, Lodge suggests that the practice of male-only conscription helped to generate sexist attitudes by making it difficult for men to regard those who were excused the rigors of military training as their equals.
Conscientious objection
A conscientious objector is an individual whose personal beliefs are incompatible with military service, or sometimes with any role in the armed forces. 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. 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.
Draft evaders
Not everyone who was conscripted was willing to go to war. They would avoid military service altogether through college deferments. Others with political influence often joined the military and served in what was termed a Champagne unit. People who have been "called up" for military service and who attempted to avoid it in some way were known as "draft-dodgers".
Many people looked upon draft-dodgers with scorn as being "cowards", but some supported them in their efforts.
Draft resisters
Historically, there has been resistance to conscription in almost every country and situation where it has been imposed. 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.
Deserters
Some conscripts who were registered for military service, nevertheless failed to arrive at induction and were listed as Absent Without Leave (AWOL).
Countries with mandatory military service (partial list)
A number of countries have mandatory military service:
Austria
Austria has mandatory military service for fit male citizens from 18 to 35 years of age. Service lasts for eight months but will be shortened to six months in 2006. Conscientious objectors join the civilian service (called Zivildienst) for twelve months (reduction to nine months in 2006).
Since January 1, 1998, females can join the military service voluntarily.
Belarus
Belarus has mandatory military service for all fit men from eighteen to twenty-seven years of age. Military service lasts for eighteen months for those without higher education, and for twelve months for those with higher education.
Bermuda
Bermuda, although an overseas territory of the United Kingdom, still maintains conscription for its local force.
Brazil
Males in Brazil are required to serve 12 months (24 months in the air force, 36 in the navy) of military service upon their 18th birthday. Most often, the service is performed in military bases as close as possible to the person's home. Those who were going to make the military academies entrance tests are often discharged with a "Fit for Military Service" certificate.
Bulgaria
Bulgaria has mandatory military service for male citizens from eighteen to twenty-seven years of age. Currently (2004) the duration of the service depends on the degree of education. For citizens studying for or holding a bachelor degree or higher the service is six months, and for citizens with no higher education it is nine months. During the last ten years the duration of service has rapidly dropped (from two years in 1994) and, as Bulgaria adopts a professional army, mandatory service will be replaced with voluntary service on 1 January 2008.
Chile
Chile has mandatory military service for all citizens between eighteen and forty-five. The duration of service is twelve months for the army and twenty-four months for Navy and Air Force.
China (PRC)
Conscription has existed in theory since the establishment of the People's Republic of China in 1949;
Conscription is enshrined in Article 55 of the Constitution, which states: "It is a sacred duty of every citizen of the People's Republic of China to defend his or her motherland and resist invasion. It is an honoured obligation of the citizens of the People's Republic of China to perform military service and to join the militia forces." [2]
The present legal basis of conscription is the 1984 Military Service Law, which describes military service as a duty for "all citizens without distinction of race (...) and religious creed." [1] [4]
Military service is normally performed in the regular armed forces, but the 1984 law does allow for conscription into the reserve forces.
Croatia
Croatian law prescribes military service for male citizens from eighteen to twenty-seven years old. The duration of the normal military service is six months (as of 2004), while conscientious objectors can apply for civilian service which lasts for eight months.
Over the last decade or so, the duration of military service has been halved and civilian service was introduced together with the streamlining of the professional army. Should this trend continue, the mandatory service may eventually be completely replaced with voluntary service.
Cyprus
Cyprus has compulsory military service for all Greek Cypriot men between the ages of eighteen and fifty. Military service lasts for twenty-five months. After that, ex-soldiers are considered reservists and participate in military exercises for a few days every year. Conscientious objectors can either do thirty three months unarmed service in the army or thirty eight months community work. Legislation and practice relating to civilian alternatives to military service remained punitive in nature, although new legislation which came into force in 2004 reduced the length of such alternative service. The Special Committee, which makes recommendations on applications for conscientious objection, proposed a blanket rejection of applications based on ideological grounds where applicants do not declare particular beliefs. AI called for a re-evaluation of the Committee’s methods and for the authorities to establish an alternative to military service of a purely civilian nature, outside the authority of the Ministry of Defence.
Denmark
As described in the Constitution of Denmark, § 81, Denmark has mandatory service for all able men. Normal service is four months, and is normally served by men in the age of eighteen to twenty-seven. Some special services will take longer. However some may be deemed unfit for service and not be required to show up.
Even if a person is deemed fit, or partially fit for service, he may avoid having to serve if he draws a high enough number randomly. Persons who are deemed partly fit for service will however be placed lower than those who are deemed fit for service, and therefore have a very low chance of being drafted. Men deemed fit can be called upon for service until their 50th birthday in case of national crisis, regardless of whether normal conscription has been served.
Conscientious objectors can choose to instead serve six months in a non-military position, for example in Redningsberedskabet (dealing with non-military disasters like fires, flood, pollution, etc.) or foreign aid work in a third world country.
Egypt
Egypt has a mandatory military service program for males between the ages of eighteen and thirty. Males with no brothers, or those supporting parents are exempted from the service. College graduates serve for lesser periods of time, depending on their education, and college graduates with special skills are still conscripted yet at a different rank and with a different pay scale with the option of remaining with the service as a career.
Eritrea
Eritrea has a mandatory military service program for both men and women aged eighteen through forty. The term of service is eighteen months. There is no alternate service.
Finland
Finland has mandatory military service for men of a minimum duration of six months (180 days), depending on the assigned position: those trained as officers or NCOs serve for twelve months (362 days), specialist troops serve for nine (270 days) or twelve months, while rank and file serve for the minimum period. Unarmed service is also possible, and lasts eleven months (330 days). Since 1995, women have been able to volunteer for military service. A pregnancy during service would interrupt the service but not automatically cause a medical discharge.
Non-military service of thirteen months (395 days) is available for men whose conscience prevents them from serving in the military. Men who refuse to serve at all are sent to prison for six and a half months (197 days) or half the time of their remaining non-military service at the time of refusal. In theory, male citizens from the demilitarized Åland region are to serve in customs offices or lighthouses, but since this service has not been arranged, they are always exempted in practice. Jehovah's Witnesses' service is postponed every two years until they, at the age of twenty-eight, are exempted from service. Military service has been mandatory for men throughout the history of independent Finland since 1917.
Having completed the initial part of the service as a conscript, the soldier is placed in the reserve. The service is mandatory; As of late though, the option to opt for non-military service has been made available as the Finnish Defence Forces has made ongoing budget cuts, reflected in the number of reservist exercises annually.
The length of non-military service has been criticized as being punitive by Amnesty International because it is over twice as long as the minimum six-month military service. Proponents point out that those serving as conscripts serve in theory 24 hours per day (especially when in the field), as opposed to those who have opted for non-military service, who (depending on the post) typically serve only during office hours.
Over 80% of Finnish males serve in the military. Often there is great pressure from family members to do armed instead of civilian service. Finnish World War Two veterans are highly respected in Finland, and not undertaking military service may be considered an offence towards veterans in the family. There has also been a prevailing social assumption that masculinity can only be proved by army service, and, consequently, not doing so can lead to the stigmatisation of non-conscripts as not "real men". Additionally, the youth are often frightened that employers do not hire men who have performed civilian service.
Germany
Germany has mandatory military service of nine months for men. A conscientious objector may petition for permission to do civilian alternative service, "civilian service" (Zivildienst) instead for nine months, which is usually accepted.
Besides several exceptions, military service is compulsory for all men between the ages of eighteen and twenty-three 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.
Greece
As of 2006, Greece (Hellenic Republic) has mandatory military service of twelve months for men. Although, Greece is developing a professional army system, it continues to enforce the 12-month mandatory military service despite earlier promises that the draft will be reduced to six months. Conscientious objection to military service
The length of alternative civilian service for conscientious objectors to military service remained punitive at 42 months. Amnesty International was also concerned that the determination of conscientious objector status fell under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Defence, which breaches international standards that stipulate that the entire institution of alternative service should have a civilian character.(Amnesty International)
Iran
Iran has mandatory military service for men. Duration of military service is dependent on some conditions and circumstances, but it is usually 21 months in normal conditions on top of the three months of initial training. More information can be found at Police Web Site (in Persian)
Israel
Israel has mandatory military service for both men and women. Israeli Arabs are exempt from service, although they may volunteer. Religious Jewish Israeli women can apply for an exemption from army service. Although some of them choose to serve, many opt to serve voluntarily in Sherut Leumi (national civilian service).
Typically, men are required to serve for 3 years and women for 2 years. Officers and other soldiers in certain voluntary duties such as Nahal and Hesder are required to additional service. See also: Israel Defence Forces.
There is a very limited percentage conscientious objection, of military service in general, mostly refusal to serve in the West Bank. See also: Refusal to serve in the Israeli military.
In addition, men are liable for up to one month per year of reserve duty (miluim) until they are their early forties.
Korea, South
South Korea has mandatory military service of 24 to 27 months.
There are many reported instances of American citizens of Korean descent being forced to serve in the South Korean military.
Lebanon
Lebanon previously had mandatory military service of one year for men. On 4 May 2005, a new conscription system was adopted, making for a six-month service, and pledging to end conscription within two years.
Malaysia
As of 2004, Malaysia has mandatory national service of three months for a selected group of both men and women. See Official Information from Malaysia National Service Training Department.
Mexico
Currently, all males reaching eighteen 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, he must not follow any activities whatsoever and get his 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 physical education instructors. Military service is also (voluntarily) open to women.
Draft dodging was an uncommon occurrence in Mexico until 2002, since a "liberated" military ID card was needed for a Mexican male to obtain a passport, but since this requirement was dropped, absenteeism from military service has become much more common.
Norway
Norway has mandatory military service of eighteen months for men between the ages of 18 (17 with parental consent) and 44 (55 in case of war). The actual draft time is six months for the home guard, and from nine to twelve months for the regular army, air force and navy.
The remaining months are supposed to be served in annual exercises, but very few conscripts do this due to lack of funding for the Norwegian armed forces. The remainder, for the most part, either are formally dismissed after medical tests or obtain deferral from the service due to studies or stays abroad.
Some, such as those who choose vocational course paths during high school (for example, carpenters and electricians) opt to complete their required apprenticeships within the military. While some Norwegians consider it unfair that they are the "unlucky ones" that have to complete the compulsory military duty when so many others are dismissed, others see it as a privilege and there is sometimes high competition to be allowed to join the service. This is because spending a year in the military will grant them many benefits after service completion and steady pay during their service, which helps many avoid having to take out student loans. Employers generally show favorable regard to those who complete their military service.
The Norwegian armed forces will normally not draft a person who has reached the age of 28. Pacifists can apply for non-military service, which lasts 12 months.
Poland
Poland has a compulsory service term of nine months for all mature men (three months for those with higher education). However, many of those are considered unfit for mandatory military service during peacetime. Alternative service can be requested, e.g. Students born in 1983 or later can volunteer for military preparations, so they serve in military 6 weeks during their summer break after the finish fourth semester. Also many, facing very high unemployment in the country, join forces voluntarily to serve the term and later gain opportunity to get a well paid jobs in military or police.
Russia
The conscription system was introduced into Imperial Russia by Dmitry Milyutin in the 1870s. The most widely used ways to avoid the military service are:
Studying in a university or similar place. Graduated students serve one year as privates, but if they have a military education, they have the option to serve two years as officers. Getting a medical certificate that shows that a person is unfit for service. Bribing military or civilian officials responsible for draft.In Russia, a person cannot be conscripted after he turns twenty-seven.
In 2006, the Russian government announced its plans to gradually reduce the term of service to 18 months for those who will be conscripted in 2007 and to one year since 2008 and to drop some legal excuses for non-conscription from the law (such as non-conscription of rural doctors and teachers, of men who have a child younger than 3 years etc.).
As a result of draft evasion, 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 entrance into the military, known as dedovschina, some dying as a result.
See Only eleven percent of Russian men enter mandatory military service.
See also Dedovschina.
See also Russian draftee’s legs and genitals amputated after hazing incident.
Serbia and Montenegro
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Prior to the 2006 Montenegrin independence referendum, Serbia and Montenegro had compulsory national service for all men aged between 19 and 35, as described below. The future situation of this service in the now independent republic of Serbia remains unknown. Meanwhile President Filip Vujanović of Montenegro has, as of Aug. 30, 2006, abolished conscription for the military . Service is usually performed after University studies have been completed. The length of service was 9 months but has recently been reduced to 6 months (2006). Serbia-Montenegro nationals living outside of the country were still expected to complete national service, however, they may defer it if it will seriously impact their career in the country where they currently reside.
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 since 2005 (or two and a half years before 2005).
Singapore, which currently has a mandatory service period of twenty-four months, used to have one of the longest mandatory military service periods for males, at thirty months.
Sweden
Since 1902 military service is mandatory in Sweden. Military service comprise a 8 to 15 month training period.
Men may choose to do unarmed service, for instance as a firefighter. Generally, unarmed service is longer than armed.
Since 1980 women are allowed to serve in the armed forces. As of 2002, Sweden's government asked the army to consider mandatory military service for women. See Sweden considers mandatory military service for women.
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 18 or 21 weeks of basic training (depending on troop category) 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 390 days of community service instead of military service.
Taiwan (ROC)
The Republic of China has had mandatory military service for all males since 1949. In October 1999, the mandatory service was shortened from twenty-four months to twenty-two months. From January 2004, the mandatory service was shortened further. At this point, the duration of mandatory military service is eighteen months. The ROC Defense Ministry has announced that should voluntary enlistment reach sufficient numbers, the compulsory service period for draftees will be shortened to fourteen months in 2007, and further to twelve months in 2008, if trend persists.
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
Turkey
In Turkey, compulsory military service applies to all male citizens from twenty to forty-one 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: fifteen months for privates (previously eighteen months), twelve months for reserve officers (previously sixteen months) and six months for short-term privates, which denotes those who have earned a university degree and not have been enlisted as reserve officers (previously eight 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 twenty-one days (previously twenty-eight days) 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 by law as a stopgap measure, but has never been practised in reality.
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.
Ukraine
The options are either reserve officer training for two years (offered in universities as a part of a program which means not having to join the army), or one year regular service.
Venezuela
Military service is mandatory and may last for up to two years. All men between eighteen and thirty-five years of age are liable to be conscripted if not already registered as reserves or exempt from conscription by the local authority.
Reasons for exemption include: being sole support for a family, studying college, being physically unfit or although not publicly acknowledged: being homosexual (often called 'artists' by recruiters).
In past decades the policy of conscription (la recluta) in Venezuela used to draw its manpower from the detention of males of military age, in a similar way to the press gangs of the pre-Industrial era.
Countries that don't have, or abolished, mandatory military service
Arguments for 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 also be argued that these skills could better be taught in the public school system than during mandatory service.
Rite of passage
In many countries, conscription serves as a rite of passage. The prospective man is tested, to see whether or not he can endure the hardships of military training and earn the right to be called a man. Military service, in countries that have it, may then be seen as the test of manhood.
A good example of this is in Finland, where having acquired a reserve military rank is considered a valuable asset for a manager in civilian work, carrying prestige comparable to education, work experience or recommendations.
The draft as protection against democracy-destroying military coups
Some argue that conscription should be connected to democracy.
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.
Manpower
Small countries have several options to raise a sizeable army.
Other options for national defense include membership in a military alliance like NATO, as is the case for countries like Belgium and Luxembourg.
Also, a wealthy small country could hire a professional mercenary army.
However, conscription creates numbers but not quality. If the conscript army is trained only during the crisis, the limits on time and resources on training enable only rudimentary training;
The losses to conscript armies on the battlefield are often large, but waste of manpower is limited by the fact that the supply of able-bodied males in a nation is not inexhaustible.
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.
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.
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.
However, the conscript force may also receive the best of the youth which would never join a professional army. However, as the tour of duty is three years, and as the nation lives in continuous threat of war, the military training is very thorough and can well be compared to that of the all-volunteer professional armies.
The worst problem is however that the training must be designed by the physical fitness and the learning ability of the least able of the youth.
In many cases the conscript servicemates may have social or societal problems, they may be criminals, bullies or drug abusers, or they may even be sociopaths.
Total war
Total war means harnessing all the nation for warfare.
This world view was quite common in the Western world from 1855 to 1945 (from Crimean War to the end of World War II).
The sensibility of the total war viewpoint can be questionized today. In that respect it makes also no sense to arm the whole nation and prepare for years of conflict, but rather to create small professional forces, which are quick to react and have light logistics, and which can run a decisive campaign in short period of time instead of getting stuck on years of war of attrition which has no winners.
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.
Some ideologies and cultures, especially in the East, and those based on collectivism or statism, value the society and common good above the life of an individual. Able-bodied males are an essential part of the national war machinery for total war,
In the era of total war, the conscription is the only alternative for a small nation to build an army of credible strength without depending on alliances.
The right of the state to conscript its citizens can be founded on Utilitarianist principles.
Conscription can give the conscripts a lasting patriotic view and readiness to die for the good of the whole.
Economics
In a very large war, (such as WW2) raising a large enough volunteer military would require dramatic increases in taxes or budget deficits. (Higher taxes would penalise those out of service much more than those in.) Indeed research into fiscal impacts of conscription in WW2 suggest a volunteer army raised to the same size would have had worse economic impact in terms of economic growth.
Arguments against 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. (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 maintain a possibility of conscription in time of war.
The draft as slavery
Conscription subjects individual personalities to militarism. Wells, Bertrand Russell and Thomas Mann in Against Conscription and the Military Training of Youth—1930Some groups, such as libertarians, say that the draft constitutes slavery, since it is mandatory work.
Conscription even ends up mirroring many of the infamous traits of chattel slavery in the American South; Capital punishment has been commonly used as means of maintaining morale and keeping discipline in conscription armies but is currently not used in contemporary Western countries with conscription in peacetime.
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.
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.
These are examples of "military" conscription used to obtain involuntary labour. The legalised abduction of citizens by the state makes for military inefficiency as well as economic inefficiency and a denial of Constitutional freedom.
The draft as ageism
Conscription is usually limited to young people, and the burden of conscription is almost never spread equally across all age groups. Opponents of ageism, and advocates of youth liberation, argue that age-based military conscription is the most severe disparity on the basis of age of any government mandate on individuals. Even in countries with elected governments, conscripts are often too young to be allowed to vote or participate in decisions on whether to go to war or to impose or set policies for conscription. The Twenty-sixth Amendment to the United States Constitution, which lowered the voting age to 18, was proposed and approved largely in response to criticism of conscription based on the unfairness of drafting men too young to be allowed to vote.
The draft as sexism
Traditionally conscription has been limited to only the male population. Since young men spend several months or perhaps years in unpaid service as unfree subjects while young women can at the same time study, work, found families and find their niche in the society, conscription is more and more considered as an unfair and sexist institution whose sole intention is to punish boys for being born as males.
Discipline problems
No army can work without discipline. Volunteers seldom have disciplinary problems, but people pressed in the service against their will have little other motivation to serve than personal survival.
Consequently, conscript armies are more likely to mutiny than all-volunteer forces, and like the Vlasov army, can in extreme cases turn against their own.
Especially dire the discipline problems become when the ablest of the youth are forced to serve against their will under the authority of people they consider dumber or untalented or simply because of unquestioned authority.
The draft as nationalism and promoting militarism
The military draft is predicated on the assumption that nations have rights that supersede those of the individual.
In peacetime, conscription can create an atmosphere of militarism and bigotry in the society. Since each and every male has military training and has been subjected to military indoctrination, men also tend to reflect their thoughts in means of military. Many young men in countries with compulsory conscription develop a cynical stance about militarism because the mandatory nature of conscription creates low morale amongst soldiers.
Men who have had military training can also be more ready to use violence to solve human relations' conflicts than those who have not had. As results, prisons are over-represented in some countries by men who have had military training. Conscription also may create an atmosphere of chauvinism, sexism and discrimination against those men who haven't served in the armed forces.
Draftees can object to 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.
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. Arguably this results in a blurring of the moral distinction between civilians and the military as legitimate military targets, leading to attacks on civilians.
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.
The biggest problem is that the pace of training has to be adjusted to the level of the lowest quality manpower. 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.
Likewise, the military training of the conscripts is almost universally very rudimentary. It seldom goes beyond drill, shooting practise, rudimentary specialization on one's service branch and weapons (rifles, artillery, grenade launchers, missiles, mines and explosives etc) and basic battlefield training. For example, the Argentinian military service was known as la colimba; the word colimba is a composite word made from the initial syllables of the verbs correr (to run), limpiar (to clean) and barrer (to sweep), as it was perceived that all a conscript did during service was running, cleaning and sweeping. Likewise, many nations have used conscripts simply as unfree costless work force, organized as "work battalions" for agriculture and building infrastructure instead of decent military training.
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; Compared to these extensive costs, some would argue there is very little benefit, if there ever were 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.
The cost to benefit ratio of conscription during war time is also debatable.
Alternative theories suggest that readiness for war in times of crises require constant training or conscription.
Particularly 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 voluntary troops have been over utilized.
The conscription can also be related to the parable of the broken window. Military service can be related to any work. As the military training of conscripts is at best rudimentary, the conscript armies have to replace quality with quantity, making conscript armies large and unwieldy.
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