Multifaceted Conscription: A Comparative Study of Six European Countries
Although the last few decades have witnessed a shift from conscription to all-volunteer forces in many European countries, recent changes in the European security environment have raised new concerns and prompted several countries to reconsider conscription. However, modern conscription systems have...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Scandinavian Military Studies
2024-03-01
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| Series: | Scandinavian Journal of Military Studies |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://account.sjms.nu/index.php/sms-j-sjms/article/view/166 |
| _version_ | 1797202843256487936 |
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| author | Emma Jonsson Mikael Salo Eleri Lillemäe Frank Bruntland Steder Thomas Ferst Kairi Kasearu Jurate Novagrockiene Johan Österberg Teija Sederholm Sofia Svensén Tibor Szvircsev Tresch Tiia-Triin Truusa |
| author_facet | Emma Jonsson Mikael Salo Eleri Lillemäe Frank Bruntland Steder Thomas Ferst Kairi Kasearu Jurate Novagrockiene Johan Österberg Teija Sederholm Sofia Svensén Tibor Szvircsev Tresch Tiia-Triin Truusa |
| author_sort | Emma Jonsson |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Although the last few decades have witnessed a shift from conscription to all-volunteer forces in many European countries, recent changes in the European security environment have raised new concerns and prompted several countries to reconsider conscription. However, modern conscription systems have also had to adapt to changing societies and an increasing emphasis on individualistic and neoliberal values. This study aims to examine the various forms of military conscription and illuminate the continuing viability of the conscription model in six European countries: Estonia, Finland, Lithuania, Norway, Sweden, and Switzerland. Four of these countries have consistently maintained conscription (Estonia, Finland, Norway, and Switzerland), while Lithuania and Sweden have recently reinstated conscription. Although conscription systems differ among these countries, there is overall an increasing emphasis on conscript motivation and female participation. Three key aspects are identified to describe different conscription systems: the proportion of conscripted individuals in the birth cohort, motivation to serve, and the approach to female conscripts. Combining these aspects, the study identifies three types of conscription system in these six countries. This article demonstrates that conscription has evolved and adapted to changing societies and security situations instead of merely retaining its traditional form. |
| first_indexed | 2024-04-24T08:09:52Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-dacfe0d95902460e8eaf251bfe454a86 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2596-3856 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-04-24T08:09:52Z |
| publishDate | 2024-03-01 |
| publisher | Scandinavian Military Studies |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Scandinavian Journal of Military Studies |
| spelling | doaj.art-dacfe0d95902460e8eaf251bfe454a862024-04-17T07:01:16ZengScandinavian Military StudiesScandinavian Journal of Military Studies2596-38562024-03-017119–3319–3310.31374/sjms.166116Multifaceted Conscription: A Comparative Study of Six European CountriesEmma Jonsson0https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5659-0984Mikael Salo1https://orcid.org/0009-0002-4931-1478Eleri Lillemäe2https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8959-9993Frank Bruntland Steder3https://orcid.org/0009-0007-7876-8633Thomas Ferst4https://orcid.org/0009-0005-5826-4062Kairi Kasearu5https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9590-0284Jurate Novagrockiene6Johan Österberg7https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4596-1174Teija Sederholm8https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7362-2570Sofia Svensén9https://orcid.org/0009-0000-6738-7463Tibor Szvircsev Tresch10https://orcid.org/0009-0006-8400-769XTiia-Triin Truusa11https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1862-1361Swedish Defence UniversityFinnish Defence Forces and Military Sociological Society of FinlandEstonian Military Academy and University of TartuNorwegian Defence Research Establishment, FFIMilitary Academy at the ETH ZurichUniversity of TartuMilitary Academy of LithuaniaSwedish Defence UniversityFinnish National Defence UniversitySwedish Defence UniversityMilitary Academy at the ETH, ZurichBaltic Defence College, Estonia, and University of TartuAlthough the last few decades have witnessed a shift from conscription to all-volunteer forces in many European countries, recent changes in the European security environment have raised new concerns and prompted several countries to reconsider conscription. However, modern conscription systems have also had to adapt to changing societies and an increasing emphasis on individualistic and neoliberal values. This study aims to examine the various forms of military conscription and illuminate the continuing viability of the conscription model in six European countries: Estonia, Finland, Lithuania, Norway, Sweden, and Switzerland. Four of these countries have consistently maintained conscription (Estonia, Finland, Norway, and Switzerland), while Lithuania and Sweden have recently reinstated conscription. Although conscription systems differ among these countries, there is overall an increasing emphasis on conscript motivation and female participation. Three key aspects are identified to describe different conscription systems: the proportion of conscripted individuals in the birth cohort, motivation to serve, and the approach to female conscripts. Combining these aspects, the study identifies three types of conscription system in these six countries. This article demonstrates that conscription has evolved and adapted to changing societies and security situations instead of merely retaining its traditional form.https://account.sjms.nu/index.php/sms-j-sjms/article/view/166conscriptionarmed forcesmotivationfemale participationreinstating conscription |
| spellingShingle | Emma Jonsson Mikael Salo Eleri Lillemäe Frank Bruntland Steder Thomas Ferst Kairi Kasearu Jurate Novagrockiene Johan Österberg Teija Sederholm Sofia Svensén Tibor Szvircsev Tresch Tiia-Triin Truusa Multifaceted Conscription: A Comparative Study of Six European Countries Scandinavian Journal of Military Studies conscription armed forces motivation female participation reinstating conscription |
| title | Multifaceted Conscription: A Comparative Study of Six European Countries |
| title_full | Multifaceted Conscription: A Comparative Study of Six European Countries |
| title_fullStr | Multifaceted Conscription: A Comparative Study of Six European Countries |
| title_full_unstemmed | Multifaceted Conscription: A Comparative Study of Six European Countries |
| title_short | Multifaceted Conscription: A Comparative Study of Six European Countries |
| title_sort | multifaceted conscription a comparative study of six european countries |
| topic | conscription armed forces motivation female participation reinstating conscription |
| url | https://account.sjms.nu/index.php/sms-j-sjms/article/view/166 |
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