Conscription

Conscription is a general term for involuntary labour demanded by some established authority, e.g, Old Testament commentaries use the term to describe the levies of labour used to build the Temple, but it is most often used in the specific sense of government policies that require citizens to serve in their armed forces. It is known by various names — for example, the most recent conscription program in the United States was known colloquially as "the draft". Many nations do not maintain conscription forces, instead relying on a volunteer, or professional military, although many of these countries still reserve the possibility of conscription for wartime and "crises" of supply.

History

Conscription allowed the French Republic to form the Grande Armee, what Napoleon Bonaparte called "the nation in arms", which successfully battled European professional armies.

Related Topics:
French Republic - Grande Armee - Napoleon Bonaparte

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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), Newfoundland, 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). Similarly, mass protests against conscription to fight the Vietnam War occurred in several countries in the late 1960s. (See also: Conscription Crisis)

Related Topics:
World War I - Canada - Conscription Crisis of 1917 - Newfoundland - Australia - New Zealand - Compulsory Military Training - World War II - Conscription Crisis of 1944 - Vietnam War - 1960s - Conscription Crisis

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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.

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Russia and China, as well as many smaller nations, retain mainly conscript armies.

Related Topics:
Russia - China

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