Why Keep Conscription? The ‘Domestication’ of Western Europe’s Armed Forces

• In Event: Public Opinion and War

Abstract

Under what conditions do countries keep conscription? Utilizing a trove of untapped German primary sources, this study traces the process of why and how decision makers ended conscrip-tion in Germany in 2010 but chose to retain it in two similar neighboring states, Austria and Switzerland, in 2013. It finds that when domestic utility of the armed forces was perceived as low, as in Germany, society attributed low social value to the military which resulted in the deci-sion to end conscription. Conversely, in Austria and Switzerland, high domestic utility of the military in the eyes of policymakers and the public corresponded with high social value and a decision to keep the draft. This study carries crucial consequences for the study of civil-military relations in Western Europe by highlighting how the military—traditionally used for foreign warfighting—has increasingly become an important, influential actor domestically and particular-ly in social service delivery.

Author

• Simon Rotzer, University of Tennessee, Knoxville