Publication

This CSS Analysis discusses the concept of military conscription and how it is perceived in Europe today. More specifically, it examines 1) the post-Cold War demise of the practice in Western countries; 2) the types of conscription that exist in nations where it survived; 3) why Russia's increasingly bellicose behavior and a re-evaluation of conscription’s societal value has nudged some countries to reconsider their policies on drafting their youths; 4) the experiences selected European countries have had with all-volunteer forces; and 5) the difficulty of reintroducing conscription in places that have switched to all-volunteer systems.