View source for Social:Conscription

{{short description|Compulsory enlistment into national or military service}}
[[File:Conscription_map_of_the_world.svg|alt=|thumb|upright=2.2|{{legend|#8cd19d|No armed forces}}  {{legend|#5cacc4|No enforced conscription}} {{legend|#6600ff|Active conscription system, but not all the people who are fit for the service are conscripted; less than 20% of all the people who reach military age are conscripted.}}{{legend|#ff5254|Active conscription}} {{legend|#b9b9b9|No information}}]]
'''Conscription''' is the state-mandated enlistment of people in a national service, mainly a [[Social:Military service|military service]].<ref name="mw">{{cite encyclopedia |url=http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/conscription |title=Conscription |date=13 September 2023 |dictionary= Merriam-Webster Online }}</ref> Conscription dates back to [[History:Ancient history|antiquity]] and it continues in some countries to the present day under various names. The modern system of near-universal national conscription for young men dates to the {{wipe|French Revolution}} in the 1790s, where it became the basis of a very large and powerful military. Most [[Earth:Europe|Europe]]an nations later copied the system in peacetime, so that men at a certain age would serve 1–8 years on active duty and then transfer to the reserve force.

Conscription is controversial for a range of reasons, including [[Social:Conscientious objector|conscientious objection]] to military engagements on religious or philosophical grounds; political objection, for example to service for a disliked government or unpopular war; sexism, in that historically men have been subject to the draft in the most cases; and ideological objection, for example, to a perceived violation of individual rights. Those conscripted may evade service, sometimes by leaving the country,<ref>{{cite news |url=http://archives.cbc.ca/war_conflict/vietnam_war/topics/348/ |title=Seeking Sanctuary: Draft Dodgers |newspaper= CBC Digital Archives }}</ref> and seeking asylum in another country. Some selection systems accommodate these attitudes by providing alternative service outside combat-operations roles or even outside the military, such as {{lang|fi|siviilipalvelus}} (alternative civil service) in Finland, {{lang|de|Zivildienst}} (compulsory community service) in Austria, Germany and Switzerland. Several countries conscript male soldiers not only for armed forces, but also for paramilitary agencies, which are dedicated to [[Social:Police|police]]-like ''domestic only'' service like internal troops, border guards or ''non-combat'' rescue duties like civil defence.

As of 2023, many states no longer conscript their citizens, relying instead upon professional militaries with volunteers. The ability to rely on such an arrangement, however, presupposes some degree of predictability with regard to both war-fighting requirements and the scope of hostilities. Many states that have abolished conscription still, therefore, reserve the power to resume conscription during wartime or times of crisis.<ref>{{cite encyclopedia |url=http://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/second-world-war-wwii/ <!--Bot repaired link--> |title=World War II |encyclopedia=[[The Canadian Encyclopedia]] |publisher=Historica Canada |location=Toronto |date=15 July 2015}}</ref> States involved in wars or interstate rivalries are most likely to implement conscription, and democracies are less likely than autocracies to implement conscription.<ref name=":2">{{Cite journal|last1=Asal|first1=Victor|last2=Conrad|first2=Justin|last3=Toronto|first3=Nathan|s2cid=9019768|date=2017-08-01|title=I Want You! The Determinants of Military Conscription|journal=Journal of Conflict Resolution|language=en|volume=61|issue=7|pages=1456–1481|doi=10.1177/0022002715606217|issn=0022-0027}}</ref> With a few exceptions, such as Singapore and Egypt, former British colonies are less likely to have conscription, as they are influenced by British anti-conscription norms that can be traced back to the English Civil War; the {{wipe|United Kingdom}} abolished conscription in 1960.<ref name=":2" />

==History==

===In pre-modern times===

====Ilkum====
Around the reign of Hammurabi (1791–1750 [[History:Before Christ|BC]]), the Babylonian Empire used a system of conscription called ''Ilkum''. Under that system those eligible were required to serve in the royal army in time of war. During times of peace they were instead required to provide labour for other activities of the state. In return for this service, people subject to it gained the right to hold land. It is possible that this right was not to hold land ''per se'' but specific land supplied by the state.<ref name=JN242>{{Cite book |title=Early Mesopotamia Society and Economy at the Dawn of History |last=Postgate |first=J.N. |year=1992 |publisher=Routledge |isbn=0-415-11032-7 |page=[https://archive.org/details/earlymesopotamia00post/page/242 242] |url=https://archive.org/details/earlymesopotamia00post/page/242 }}</ref>

Various forms of avoiding military service are recorded. While it was outlawed by the Code of Hammurabi, the hiring of substitutes appears to have been practiced both before and after the creation of the code. Later records show that Ilkum commitments could become regularly traded. In other places, people simply left their towns to avoid their Ilkum service. Another option was to sell Ilkum lands and the commitments along with them. With the exception of a few exempted classes, this was forbidden by the Code of Hammurabi.<ref name=JN243>{{Cite book |title=Early Mesopotamia Society and Economy at the Dawn of History |last=Postgate |first=J.N. |year=1992 |publisher=Routledge |isbn=0-415-11032-7 |page=[https://archive.org/details/earlymesopotamia00post/page/243 243] |url=https://archive.org/details/earlymesopotamia00post/page/243 }}</ref>

====Medieval levies====

Under the [[Social:Feudalism|feudal]] laws on the European continent, landowners in the medieval period enforced a system whereby all peasants, [[History:Serfdom#Freemen|freemen]] commoners and noblemen aged 15 to 60 living in the countryside or in urban centers, were summoned for military duty when required by either the king or the local lord, bringing along the weapons and armor according to their wealth. These levies fought as footmen, sergeants, and men at arms under local superiors appointed by the king or the local lord such as the arrière-ban in France. Arrière-ban denoted a general levy, where all able-bodied males age 15 to 60 living in the Kingdom of France were summoned to go to war by the King (or the constable and the marshals). Men were summoned by the bailiff (or the sénéchal in the south). Bailiffs were military and political administrators installed by the King to steward and govern a specific area of a province following the king's commands and orders. The men summoned in this way were then summoned by the lieutenant who was the King's representative and military governor over an entire province comprising many bailiwicks, seneschalties and castellanies. All men from the richest noble to the poorest commoner were summoned under the arrière-ban and they were supposed to present themselves to the King or his officials.<ref name=freedictionary>{{Cite web|url=http://www.thefreedictionary.com/Arri%C3%A8re+ban|title=arrière-ban|publisher=The Free Dictionary|access-date=17 September 2012}}</ref><ref>Nicolle, D. (2000). French Armies of the Hundred Years' War (Vol. 337). Osprey Publishing.</ref><ref>Nicolle, D. (2004). Poitiers 1356: The capture of a king (Vol. 138). Osprey Publishing.</ref><ref>Curry, A. (2002). Essential Histories–The Hundred Years' War. Nova York, Osprey.</ref>

In medieval [[Place:Scandinavia|Scandinavia]] the ''leiðangr'' (Old Norse), ''leidang'' ([[Social:Norwegian language|Norwegian]]), ''leding'', ([[Social:Danish language|Danish]]), ''ledung'' ([[Social:Swedish language|Swedish]]), ''lichting'' ([[Social:Dutch language|Dutch]]), ''expeditio'' ([[Social:Latin|Latin]]) or sometimes ''leþing'' ([[Social:English language|Old English]]), was a levy of free farmers conscripted into coastal fleets for seasonal excursions and in defence of the realm.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Williams |first=D. G. E. |date=1997-01-01 |title=The Dating of the Norwegian leiðangr System: A Philological Approach |url=https://www.jbe-platform.com/content/journals/10.1075/nowele.30.02wil |journal=NOWELE. North-Western European Language Evolution |language=en |volume=30 |issue=1 |pages=21–25 |doi=10.1075/nowele.30.02wil |issn=0108-8416}}</ref>

The bulk of the Anglo-Saxon English army, called the ''fyrd'', was composed of part-time English soldiers drawn from the freemen of each county. In the 690s laws of Ine of Wessex, three levels of fines are imposed on different social classes for neglecting military service.<ref>{{cite book |last=Attenborough |first=F. L. |title=Laws of the Earliest English Kings |publisher=Cambridge University Press |date=1922 |isbn=9780404565459 |url=https://archive.org/stream/lawsofearliesten00grea#page/52}}</ref>

Some modern writers claim military service in Europe was restricted to the landowning minor nobility. These thegns were the land-holding aristocracy of the time and were required to serve with their own armour and weapons for a certain number of days each year. The historian David Sturdy has cautioned about regarding the ''fyrd'' as a precursor to a modern national army composed of all ranks of society, describing it as a "ridiculous fantasy":

<blockquote>The persistent old belief that peasants and small farmers gathered to form a national army or ''fyrd'' is a strange delusion dreamt up by antiquarians in the late eighteenth or early nineteenth centuries to justify universal military conscription.<ref>Sturdy, David ''Alfred the Great'' Constable (1995), p. 153</ref></blockquote>

[[File:Shinnyodō engi, vol.3 (part).jpg|thumb|Painting depicting a battle during the Ōnin War]]
In feudal Japan the [[Social:Shogun|shogun]] decree of 1393 exempted money lenders from religious or military levies, in return for a yearly tax. The Ōnin War weakened the shogun and levies were imposed again on money lenders. This overlordism was arbitrary and unpredictable for commoners. While the money lenders were not poor, several overlords tapped them for income. Levies became necessary for the survival of the overlord, allowing the lord to impose taxes at will. These levies included ''tansen'' tax on agricultural land for ceremonial expenses. Y''akubu takumai'' tax was raised on all land to rebuild the Ise Grand Shrine, and ''munabechisen'' tax was imposed on all [[Engineering:House|house]]s. At the time, land in [[Place:Kyoto|Kyoto]] was acquired by commoners through [[Finance:Usury|usury]] and in 1422 the shogun threatened to repossess the land of those commoners who failed to pay their levies.<ref>{{cite book| last = Gay | first = Suzanne | year = 2001| title = The Moneylenders of Late Medieval Kyoto| pages = 111| publisher = University of Hawaii Press| isbn = 9780824864880}}</ref>

====Military slavery====
[[File:Battle of Vienna.SultanMurads with janissaries.jpg|thumb|upright|Ottoman janissaries]]

The system of military slaves was widely used in the [[Place:Middle East|Middle East]], beginning with the creation of the corps of Turkic [[Religion:History of slavery in the Muslim world|slave-soldiers]] (''ghulams'' or ''mamluks'') by the Abbasid caliph al-Mu'tasim in the 820s and 830s. The Turkish troops soon came to dominate the government, establishing a pattern throughout the Islamic world of a ruling military class, often separated by ethnicity, culture and even religion by the mass of the population, a paradigm that found its apogee in the Mamluks of Egypt and the Janissary corps of the [[Place:Ottoman Empire|Ottoman Empire]], institutions that survived until the early 19th century.

In the middle of the 14th century, Ottoman Sultan Murad I developed personal troops to be loyal to him, with a slave army called the ''Kapıkulu''. The new force was built by taking Christian children from newly conquered lands, especially from the far areas of his empire, in a system known as the ''devşirme'' (translated "gathering" or "converting"). The captive children were forced to convert to [[Religion:Islam|Islam]]. The Sultans had the young boys trained over several years. Those who showed special promise in fighting skills were trained in advanced warrior skills, put into the sultan's personal service, and turned into the Janissaries, the elite branch of the ''Kapıkulu''. A number of distinguished military commanders of the Ottomans, and most of the imperial administrators and upper-level officials of the Empire, such as Pargalı İbrahim Pasha and Sokollu Mehmet Paşa, were recruited in this way.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/med/lewis1.html |first=Bernard |last=Lewis |title=Race and Slavery in the Middle East |publisher=Chapter readings for class at Fordham University |access-date=2008-03-24 |archive-date=2001-04-01 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20010401012040/http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/med/lewis1.html |url-status=dead }}</ref> By 1609, the Sultan's ''Kapıkulu'' forces increased to about 100,000.<ref>{{cite book|first=Halil|last=Inalcik|editor1=A. Ascher, B. K. Kiraly|editor2=T. Halasi-Kun|title=The Mutual Effects of the Islamic and Judeo-Christian Worlds: The East European Pattern|publisher=Brooklyn College|year=1979|chapter=Servile Labor in the Ottoman Empire|chapter-url=http://coursesa.matrix.msu.edu/~fisher/hst373/readings/inalcik6.html|at=sec. In the Service of the State and Military Class|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170504102244/http://coursesa.matrix.msu.edu/~fisher/hst373/readings/inalcik6.html|archive-date=4 May 2017}}</ref>

In later years, Sultans turned to the Barbary Pirates to supply their Jannissaries corps. Their attacks on ships off the coast of Africa or in the Mediterranean, and subsequent capture of able-bodied men for ransom or sale provided some captives for the Sultan's system. Starting in the 17th century, Christian families living under the Ottoman rule began to submit their sons into the Kapikulu system willingly, as they saw this as a potentially invaluable career opportunity for their children. Eventually the Sultan turned to foreign volunteers from the warrior clans of Circassians in southern Russia to fill his Janissary armies. As a whole the system began to break down, the loyalty of the Jannissaries became increasingly suspect. Mahmud II forcibly disbanded the Janissary corps in 1826.<ref>{{cite encyclopedia |url=https://www.britannica.com/eb/topic-300350/Janissary |title= Janissary corps, or Janizary, or Yeniçeri (Turkish military)|encyclopedia=[[Encyclopædia Britannica Online]] }}</ref>

Similar to the Janissaries in origin and means of development were the Mamluks of Egypt in the [[History:Middle Ages|Middle Ages]]. The Mamluks were usually captive non-Muslim Iranian and Turkish children who had been kidnapped or bought as slaves from the Barbary coasts. The Egyptians assimilated and trained the boys and young men to become Islamic soldiers who served the Muslim caliphs and the Ayyubid sultans during the [[History:Middle Ages|Middle Ages]]. The first mamluks served the Abbasid caliphs in 9th-century [[Place:Baghdad|Baghdad]]. Over time they became a powerful military [[Social:Caste|caste]]. On more than one occasion, they seized power, for example, ruling [[Place:Egypt|Egypt]] from 1250 to 1517.

From 1250 [[Place:Egypt|Egypt]] had been ruled by the Bahri dynasty of Kipchak origin. Slaves from the Caucasus served in the army and formed an elite corps of troops. They eventually revolted in Egypt to form the Burgi dynasty. The Mamluks' excellent fighting abilities, massed Islamic armies, and overwhelming numbers succeeded in overcoming the Christian [[Religion:Crusades|Crusader]] fortresses in the Holy Land. The Mamluks were the most successful defence against the Mongol Ilkhanate of Persia and Iraq from entering Egypt.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.sunnahonline.com/ilm/seerah/0075_popup11.htm |title=The Mamluk (Slave) Dynasty (Timeline) |newspaper=Sunnah Online |access-date=2008-03-24 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110716163316/http://www.sunnahonline.com/ilm/seerah/0075_popup11.htm |archive-date=2011-07-16 }}</ref>

On the western coast of Africa, Berber Muslims captured non-Muslims to put to work as laborers. They generally converted the younger people to Islam and many became quite assimilated. In Morocco, the Berber looked south rather than north. The Moroccan Sultan Moulay Ismail, called "the Bloodthirsty" (1672–1727), employed a corps of 150,000 black slaves, called his Black Guard. He used them to coerce the country into submission.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/med/lewis1.html |author=Lewis |title=Race and Slavery in the Middle East |publisher=Oxford University Press |year=1994 |access-date=2008-03-24 |archive-date=2001-04-01 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20010401012040/http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/med/lewis1.html |url-status=dead }}</ref>

===In modern times===
[[File:Louis-Léopold Boilly - Departure of the Conscripts in 1807 - WGA02349.jpg|thumb|Painting depicting the ''Departure of the Conscripts of 1807'' by Louis-Léopold Boilly ]]
Modern conscription, the massed military enlistment of national citizens ({{lang|fr|levée en masse}}), was devised during the {{wipe|French Revolution}}, to enable the Republic to defend itself from the attacks of European monarchies. Deputy Jean-Baptiste Jourdan gave its name to the 5 September 1798 Act, whose first article stated: "Any Frenchman is a soldier and owes himself to the defense of the nation." It enabled the creation of the {{lang|fr|Grande Armée}}, what Napoleon Bonaparte called "the nation in arms", which overwhelmed European professional armies that often numbered only into the low tens of thousands. More than 2.6&nbsp;million men were inducted into the French military in this way between the years 1800 and 1813.<ref>{{cite encyclopedia |title=Conscription |encyclopedia=Encarta |publisher=Microsoft |url=http://encarta.msn.com/encyclopedia_761561714/conscription.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091028164817/http://encarta.msn.com/encyclopedia_761561714/Conscription.html |archive-date=2009-10-28 }}</ref>

The defeat of the Prussian Army in particular shocked the Prussian establishment, which had believed it was invincible after the victories of [[History:Frederick the Great|Frederick the Great]]. The Prussians were used to relying on superior organization and tactical factors such as order of battle to focus superior troops against inferior ones. Given approximately equivalent forces, as was generally the case with professional armies, these factors showed considerable importance. However, they became considerably less important when the Prussian armies faced Napoleon's forces that outnumbered their own in some cases by more than ten to one. Scharnhorst advocated adopting the {{lang|fr|levée en masse}}, the military conscription used by France. The {{lang|de|Krümpersystem}} was the beginning of short-term compulsory service in Prussia, as opposed to the long-term conscription previously used.<ref>Dierk Walter. ''Preussische Heeresreformen 1807–1870: Militärische Innovation und der Mythos der "Roonschen Reform"''. 2003, in Citino, p. 130</ref>
[[File:Branka 1863.JPG|thumb|left|Conscription of Poles to the Russian Army in 1863 (by Aleksander Sochaczewski)]]
In the [[Place:Russian Empire|Russian Empire]], the military service time "owed" by serfs was 25 years at the beginning of the 19th century. In 1834 it was decreased to 20 years. The recruits were to be not younger than 17 and not older than 35.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.roots-saknes.lv/Army/military_service_.htm |title=Military service in Russia Empire |publisher=roots-saknes.lv |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304072619/http://www.roots-saknes.lv/Army/military_service_.htm |archive-date=2016-03-04 }}</ref> In 1874 Russia introduced universal conscription in the modern pattern, an innovation only made possible by the abolition of serfdom in 1861. New military law decreed that all male Russian subjects, when they reached the age of 20, were eligible to serve in the military for six years.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.let.leidenuniv.nl/tcimo/tulp/Research/ARMING.htm |title=Conscription and Resistance: The Historical Context archived from the original |date=2008-06-03 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080603141235/http://www.let.leidenuniv.nl/tcimo/tulp/Research/ARMING.htm |archive-date=2008-06-03 |access-date=2008-03-24 }}</ref>

In the decades prior to World War I universal conscription along broadly Prussian lines became the norm for European armies, and those modeled on them. By 1914 the only substantial armies still completely dependent on voluntary enlistment were those of Britain and the United States. Some colonial powers such as France reserved their conscript armies for home service while maintaining professional units for overseas duties.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Slavin |first1=David Henry |title=Colonial Cinema and Imperial France, 1919–1939: White Blind Spots, Male Fantasies, Settler Myths |date=2001 |publisher=JHU Press |isbn=978-0-8018-6616-6 |page=140 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=LdRkEwagRlgC&pg=PA140 |language=en |quote=Conscripts guarded the home front, while European professionals were sent overseas}}</ref>

====World Wars====
[[File:Young men registering for military conscription, New York City, June 5, 1917.jpg|thumb|Young men registering for conscription during World War I, New York City, June 5, 1917]]

The range of eligible ages for conscripting was expanded to meet national demand during the [[Social:World war|World Wars]].
In the United States, the Selective Service System drafted men for World War I initially in an age range from 21 to 30 but expanded its eligibility in 1918 to an age range of 18 to 45.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.archives.gov/research/guide-fed-records/groups/163.html |title=Records of the Selective Service System (World War I) |date=15 August 2016 }}; see also Selective Service Act of 1917 and Selective Training and Service Act of 1940.</ref> In the case of a widespread mobilization of forces where service includes homefront defense, ages of conscripts may range much higher, with the oldest conscripts serving in roles requiring lesser mobility.{{Citation needed|date=March 2021}}

Expanded-age conscription was common during the Second World War: in Britain, it was commonly known as "call-up" and extended to age 51. [[Place:Nazi Germany|Nazi Germany]] termed it {{lang|de|Volkssturm}} ("People's Storm") and included children as young as 16 and men as old as 60.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.lonesentry.com/articles/volkssturm/index.html |title=The German Volkssturm from Intelligence Bulletin |date = February 1945|website=LoneSentry.com }}</ref> During the Second World War, both Britain and the Soviet Union conscripted women. The United States was on the verge of drafting women into the Nurse Corps because it anticipated it would need the extra personnel for its planned invasion of Japan. However, the Japanese surrendered and the idea was abandoned.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.cbc.ca/news/background/military-international/ |work=CBC News |title=CBC News Indepth: International military |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130518040804/http://www.cbc.ca/news/background/military-international/ |archive-date=18 May 2013 }}</ref>

[[File:RIAN archive 662758 Recruits entering Voroshilov Barracks.jpg|thumb|upright|Soviet conscripts in Moscow after Nazi Germany invaded the Soviet Union, 1941]]
During the Great Patriotic War, the Red Army conscripted nearly 30 million men.<ref>{{Citation | first = ГФ [Krivosheev, GF] | last = Кривошеев | title = Россия и СССР в войнах XX века: потери вооруженных сил. Статистическое исследование |trans-title=Russia and the USSR in the wars of the 20th century: losses of the Armed Forces. A Statistical Study | language = ru}}.</ref>

==Arguments against conscription==
{{Hatnote|This section focuses primarily on the United States and not a worldwide view.}}

===Sexism===

[[Social:Men's rights movement|Men's rights activists]],<ref>{{cite book |last1=Messner |first1=Michael A. |title=Politics of Masculinities: Men in Movements |date=20 March 1997 |publisher=Rowman & Littlefield |isbn=978-0-8039-5577-6 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=nG8MGcopgWQC&pg=PA41 |language=en |pages=41–48}}</ref><ref name="BoydLongwood1996">{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=VSrhNzWb6sIC&pg=PR17|title=Redeeming men: religion and masculinities|publisher=Westminster John Knox Press|year=1996|isbn=978-0-664-25544-2|editor=Stephen Blake Boyd|page=17|quote=In contradistinction to profeminism, however, the men's rights perspective addresses specific legal and cultural factors that put men at a disadvantage. The movement is made up of a variety of formal and informal groups that differ in their approaches and issues; Men's rights advocates, for example, target sex-specific military conscription and judicial practices that discriminate against men in child custody cases.|editor2=W. Merle Longwood|editor3=Mark William Muesse}}</ref> [[Social:Feminism|feminists]],<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Stephen|first1=Lynn|title=Making the Draft a Women's Issue|journal=Women: A Journal of Liberation|date=1981|volume=8|issue=1|url=http://voices.revealdigital.com/cgi-bin/independentvoices?a=d&d=BGJGDDE19761001.1.59&e=-------en-20--1--txt-txIN---------------1|access-date=28 March 2016}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|last1=Lindsey|first1=Karen|editor1-last=McAllister|editor1-first=Pam|title=Reweaving the Web of Life: Feminism and Nonviolence|date=1982|publisher=New Society Publishers|isbn=0865710163|chapter=Women and the Draft|chapter-url=https://archive.org/details/reweavingwebofli00mcal|url-access=registration|url=https://archive.org/details/reweavingwebofli00mcal}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|last1=Levertov|first1=Denise|title=Candles in Babylon|date=1982|publisher=New Directions Press|isbn=9780811208314|chapter-url=http://www.ndbooks.com/book/candles-in-babylon/|chapter=A Speech: For Antidraft Rally, D.C. March 22, 1980|url-access=registration|url=https://archive.org/details/candlesinbabylon00leve}}</ref> and opponents of discrimination against men<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.theatlantic.com/sexes/archive/2013/05/when-men-experience-sexism/276355/|title=When Men Experience Sexism|date=May 29, 2013|access-date=April 26, 2015|website=The Atlantic|last=Berlatsky|first=Noah|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150105151244/http://www.theatlantic.com/sexes/archive/2013/05/when-men-experience-sexism/276355/|url-status=live|archive-date=January 5, 2015}}</ref><ref name=":0" />{{Rp|102}} have criticized military conscription, or compulsory military service, as sexist. The National Coalition for Men, a [[Social:Men's rights movement|men's rights group]], sued the US Selective Service System in 2019, leading to it being declared unconstitutional by a US Federal Judge.<ref>{{Cite news|last=Pager|first=Tyler|date=2019-02-24|title=Drafting Only Men for the Military Is Unconstitutional, Judge Rules|language=en-US|work=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2019/02/24/us/military-draft-men-unconstitutional.html|access-date=2020-06-13|issn=0362-4331}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|last=Pager|first=Tyler|date=2019-02-24|title=Drafting Only Men for the Military Is Unconstitutional, Judge Rules|language=en-US|work=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2019/02/24/us/military-draft-men-unconstitutional.html|access-date=2020-08-05|issn=0362-4331}}</ref> The federal district judge's opinion was unanimously overturned on appeal to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Federal appeals court: Male-only draft is constitutional|website=ABC News|url=https://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory/federal-appeals-court-male-draft-constitutional-72350218}}</ref> In September 2021, the House of Representatives passed the annual Defense Authorization Act, which included an amendment that states that "all Americans between the ages of 18 and 25 must register for selective service." This amendment omitted the word "male," which would have extended a potential draft to women; however, the amendment was removed before the National Defense Authorization Act was passed.<ref>{{Cite news|title=House passes defense bill with commission to investigate Afghanistan failures, mandate that women register for draft|language=en-US|newspaper=Washington Post|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/national-security/house-defense-authorization-bill/2021/09/23/ef9c05d2-1bc9-11ec-a99a-5fea2b2da34b_story.html|access-date=28 October 2021|issn=0190-8286}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|last=Turner|first=Trish|date=24 July 2021|title=New legislation would require women, like men, to sign up for potential military draft|url=https://abc7chicago.com/10907316/|access-date=28 October 2021|website=ABC7 Chicago|language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|last=Behrmann|first=Savannah|date=8 December 2021|title=Lawmakers kill measure that would have required women to register for the Selective Service|url=https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2021/12/08/lawmakers-kill-provision-requiring-women-register-draft/6433960001/|access-date=22 January 2022|website=USA Today|language=en}}</ref>

Feminists have argued, first,  that military conscription is sexist because wars serve the interests of what they view as the [[Biology:Patriarchy|patriarchy]]; second, that the military is a sexist institution and that conscripts are therefore indoctrinated into sexism; and third, that conscription of men normalizes violence by men as socially acceptable.<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Michalowski|first1=Helen|title=Five feminist principles and the draft|journal=Resistance News|date=May 1982|issue=8|page=2}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal|last1=Neudel|first1=Marian Henriquez|title=Feminism and the Draft|journal=Resistance News|date=July 1983|issue=13|page=7}}</ref> Feminists have been organizers and participants in resistance to conscription in several countries.<ref>{{cite periodical |title=Letters from draft-age women about why they wouldn't register for the draft |periodical=Resistance News |date=1 March 1980 |issue=2|page=6}}</ref><ref>{{cite periodical |title=Gestation: Women and Draft Resistance |periodical=Resistance News|date=November 1982|issue=11}}</ref><ref>{{cite periodical |title=Women and the resistance movement |periodical=Resistance News|date=8 June 1986|issue=21}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=No to Equality in Militarism! (Statement of the feminist collective TO MOV co-signed by the Association of Greek Conscientious Objectors)|url=http://antimili-youth.net/articles/2016/02/no-equality-militarism|website=Countering the Militarisation of Youth|publisher=War Resisters International|access-date=28 March 2016}}</ref>

Conscription has also been criticized on the ground that, historically, only men have been subjected to conscription.<ref name=":0">{{Cite book|title=The Second Sexism: Discrimination Against Men and Boys|last=Benatar|first=David|publisher={{wipe|John Wiley & Sons}}|isbn=978-0-470-67451-2|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=vdIrkGLHLPsC|access-date=April 26, 2015|date=May 15, 2012}}</ref><ref>Goldstein, Joshua S. (2003). [https://books.google.com/books?id=XUAsskBg8ywC&pg=PA108 "War and Gender: Men's War Roles – Boyhood and Coming of Age"]. In Ember, Carol R.; Ember, Melvin ''Encyclopedia of Sex and Gender: Men and Women in the World's Cultures''. Volume 1. [[Company:Springer Science+Business Media|Springer]]. p. 108. {{ISBN|978-0-306-47770-6}}. Retrieved April 25, 2015.</ref><ref>Kronsell, Anica (June 29, 2006). [https://books.google.com/books?id=qVcV-JBhoVUC&pg=PA113 "Methods for studying silence: The 'silence' of Swedish conscription"]. In Ackerly, Brooke A.; Stern, Maria; True, Jacqui ''Feminist Methodologies for International Relations''. {{wipe|Cambridge University Press}}. p. 113. {{ISBN|978-1-139-45873-3}}. Retrieved April 25, 2015.</ref><ref>{{Cite book|title=Multicultural Citizens, Monocultural Men: Indigineity, Masculinity, and Conscription in Ecuador|last=Selmeski|first=Brian R.|year=2007|isbn=978-0-549-40315-9|location=[[Organization:Syracuse University|Syracuse University]]|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=nv8_omV87vkC&pg=PA149|page=149|access-date=April 25, 2015}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|title=The Changing Face of European Conscription|last=Joenniemi|first=Pertti|publisher=[[Company:Ashgate Publishing|Ashgate Publishing]]|year=2006|isbn=978-0-754-64410-1|pages=142–49|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=hwaa7jKmE_IC&pg=PA149|access-date=April 25, 2015}}</ref> Men who opt out or are deemed unfit for military service must often perform alternative service, such as Zivildienst in Austria, {{wipe|Germany}} and {{wipe|Switzerland}}, or pay extra taxes,<ref>{{Cite web|title=RS 661.1 Ordonnance du 30 août 1995 sur la taxe d'exemption de l'obligation de servir (OTEO)|url=https://www.admin.ch/opc/fr/classified-compilation/19950245/index.html|access-date=2020-06-13|website=www.admin.ch}}</ref> whereas women do not have these obligations. In the US, men who do not register with the Selective Service cannot apply for citizenship, receive federal financial aid, grants or loans, be employed by the federal government, be admitted to public colleges or universities, or, in some states, obtain a driver's license.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Korte|first=Gregory|title=For a million U.S. men, failing to register for the draft has serious, long-term consequences|url=https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2019/04/02/failing-register-draft-women-court-consequences-men/3205425002/|access-date=2020-06-13|website=USA Today|language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|title=Selective Service {{!}} USAGov|url=https://www.usa.gov/selective-service|access-date=2020-06-13|website=www.usa.gov|language=en}}</ref>

===Involuntary servitude===
[[File:Anti Civil War Draft Rioters in Lexington Avenue New York 1863.jpg|thumb|200px|Rioters attacking a building during the New York anti-draft riots of 1863]]
Many American libertarians oppose conscription and call for the abolition of the Selective Service System, arguing that impressment of individuals into the armed forces amounts to [[Social:Involuntary servitude|involuntary servitude]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.dehnbase.org/lpus/library/platform/catm.html|title=Conscription and the Military|work=Libertarian Party|publisher=www.dehnbase.org}}</ref> For example, Ron Paul, a former U.S. Libertarian Party presidential nominee,  has said that conscription "is wrongly associated with [[Social:Patriotism|patriotism]], when it really represents slavery and involuntary servitude".<ref>U.S. Representative Ron Paul [http://antiwar.com/paul/?articleid=5651 Conscription Is Slavery], antiwar.com, January 14, 2003.</ref> The philosopher [[Biography:Ayn Rand|Ayn Rand]] opposed conscription, opining that "of all the statist violations of individual rights in a mixed economy, the military draft is the worst. It is an abrogation of rights. It negates man's fundamental right—the right to life—and establishes the fundamental principle of statism: that a man's life belongs to the state, and the state may claim it by compelling him to sacrifice it in battle."<ref>{{cite web|url=http://aynrandlexicon.com/lexicon/draft.html|title=Draft|work=aynrandlexicon.com|access-date=15 October 2016}}</ref>

In 1917, a number of radicals{{who|date=May 2021}} and anarchists, including [[Biography:Emma Goldman|Emma Goldman]], challenged the new draft law in federal court, arguing that it was a violation of the Thirteenth Amendment's prohibition against slavery and involuntary servitude. However, the Supreme Court unanimously upheld the constitutionality of the draft act in the case of ''Arver v. United States'' on 7 January 1918, on the ground that the Constitution gives Congress the power to declare war and to raise and support armies. The Court also relied on the principle of the reciprocal rights and duties of citizens. "It may not be doubted that the very conception of a just government in its duty to the citizen includes the reciprocal obligation of the citizen to render military service in case of need and the right to compel."<ref>John Whiteclay Chambers II, ''To Raise an Army: The Draft Comes to Modern America'' (1987) pp. 219–20</ref>

===Economic===
It can be argued that in a [[Finance:Benefit–cost ratio|cost-to-benefit ratio]], conscription during peacetime is not worthwhile.<ref>Henderson, David R. "[http://econjwatch.org/issues/volume-2-issue-2-august-2005 The Role of Economists in Ending the Draft]" (August 2005).</ref> Months or years of service performed by the most fit and capable subtract from the productivity of the economy; add to this the cost of training them, and in some countries paying them. Compared to these extensive costs, some would argue there is very little benefit; if there ever was a war then conscription and basic training could be completed quickly, and in any case there is little threat of a war in most countries with conscription. In the United States, every male resident is required by law to register with the Selective Service System within 30 days following his 18th birthday and be available for a draft; this is often accomplished automatically by a motor vehicle department during licensing or by voter registration.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Seago |first=Laura |date=2009 |title=Automatic Registration in the United States: The Selective Service Example |url=https://www.brennancenter.org/sites/default/files/2019-08/Report_Automatic-Registration-in-the-US-Selective-Service-Example.pdf |journal=Brennan Center for Justice}}</ref>

According to [[Biography:Milton Friedman|Milton Friedman]] the cost of conscription can be related to the [[Philosophy:Parable of the broken window|parable of the broken window]] in anti-draft arguments. The cost of the work, military service, does not disappear even if no salary is paid. The work effort of the conscripts is effectively wasted, as an unwilling workforce is extremely inefficient. The impact is especially severe in wartime, when civilian professionals are forced to fight as amateur soldiers. Not only is the work effort of the conscripts wasted and productivity lost, but professionally skilled conscripts are also difficult to replace in the civilian workforce. Every soldier conscripted in the army is taken away from his civilian work, and away from contributing to the economy which funds the military. This may be less a problem in an agrarian or pre-industrialized state where the level of education is generally low, and where a worker is easily replaced by another. However, this is potentially more costly in a [[Philosophy:Post-industrial society|post-industrial society]] where educational levels are high and where the workforce is sophisticated and a replacement for a conscripted specialist is difficult to find. Even more dire economic consequences result if the professional conscripted as an amateur soldier is killed or maimed for life; his work effort and productivity are lost.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://oll.libertyfund.org/?option=com_staticxt&staticfile=show.php%3Ftitle=2136&chapter=195469&layout=html&Itemid=27#c_NIR_1360-016_footnote_nt1046 |title=Why Not a Volunteer Army? |access-date=September 11, 2008 |first=Milton |last=Friedman |year=1967 |work=New Individualist Review|}}</ref>

==Arguments for conscription==

===Political and moral motives===
[[File:Conscription in Iran 3.jpg|thumb|left|Conscription in Iran]]

Jean Jacques Rousseau argued vehemently against professional armies since he believed that it was the right and privilege of every citizen to participate to the defense of the whole society and that it was a mark of moral decline to leave the business to professionals. He based his belief upon the development of the Roman Republic, which came to an end at the same time as the Roman Army changed from a conscript to a professional force.<ref>Rousseau, J-J. Social Contract. Chapter "The Roman Comitia"</ref> Similarly, [[Biography:Aristotle|Aristotle]] linked the division of armed service among the populace intimately with the political order of the state.<ref>Aristotle, Politics, Book 6 Chapter VII and Book 4 Chapter XIII.</ref> [[Biography:Niccolò Machiavelli|Niccolò Machiavelli]] argued strongly for conscription<ref>{{Cite book|title=Machiavelli, Marketing and Management|first1=Phil|last1=Harris|first2=Andrew |last2=Lock |first3=Patricia |last3=Rees |publisher=Routledge |year=2002 |isbn=9781134605682 |pages=10}}</ref> and saw the professional armies, made up of mercenary units, as the cause of the failure of societal unity in Italy.<ref name="ozio">{{cite journal |last1=Dolman |first1=Everett Carl |title=Obligation and the Citizen-Soldier: Machiavellian Virtú Versus Hobbesian Order |journal=Journal of Political & Military Sociology |date=1995 |volume=23 |issue=2 |page=195 |jstor=45294067 |issn=0047-2697}}</ref>

Other proponents, such as [[Biography:William James|William James]], consider both mandatory military and national service as ways of instilling maturity in young adults.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.constitution.org/wj/meow.htm |title=The Moral Equivalent of War |first=William |last=James |year=1906 |access-date=2008-10-17 |archive-date=2020-05-26 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200526203149/https://www.constitution.org/wj/meow.htm }}</ref> Some proponents, such as Jonathan Alter and Mickey Kaus, support a draft in order to reinforce social equality, create social consciousness, break down class divisions and allow young adults to immerse themselves in public enterprise.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.newsweek.com/1995/07/30/cop-out-on-class.html |title=Cop Out on Class |first=Jonathan |last=Alter |newspaper=Newsweek}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.realclearpolitics.com/articles/2010/03/12/interview_with_mickey_kaus_104743.html |title=Interview with Mickey Kaus |publisher=realclearpolitics.com }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.reason.com/archives/1995/10/01/overcoming-merit |title=Overcoming Merit |first=Virginia |last=Postrel |date=October 1995 |author-link=Virginia Postrel }}</ref> Charles Rangel called for the reinstatement of the draft during the Iraq War not because he seriously expected it to be adopted but to stress how the socioeconomic restratification meant that very few children of upper-class Americans served in the all-volunteer American armed forces.<ref>{{Cite magazine|title=Rangel: It's Time for a War Tax and a Reinstated Draft|url=https://time.com/3403976/rangel-draft-tax/|access-date=2021-09-30|magazine=Time|language=en}}</ref>
{{Clear}}

===Economic and resource efficiency===
{{Further|Social:Industrial warfare|Social:Total war|Social:War effort}}
It is estimated by the British military that in a professional military, a company deployed for active duty in peacekeeping corresponds to three inactive companies at home. Salaries for each are paid from the military budget. In contrast, volunteers from a trained reserve are in their civilian jobs when they are not deployed.<ref>{{Cite book
|first=Gustav
|last=Hägglund
|title=Leijona ja kyyhky
|year=2006
|publisher=Otava
|language=fi
|isbn=951-1-21161-7
}}</ref>

It was more financially beneficial for less-educated young Portuguese men born in 1967 to participate in conscription than to participate in the highly competitive job market with men of the same age who continued to higher education.<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Card|first1=David|last2=Cardoso|first2=Ana Rute|s2cid=55247633|title=Can Compulsory Military Service Raise Civilian Wages? Evidence from the Peacetime Draft in Portugal|journal=American Economic Journal: Applied Economics|date=October 2012|volume=4|issue=4|pages=57–93|doi=10.1257/app.4.4.57|hdl=10261/113437|url=https://digital.csic.es/bitstream/10261/113437/4/AEJAppl_20110228_final_manuscript.pdf |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20221010/https://digital.csic.es/bitstream/10261/113437/4/AEJAppl_20110228_final_manuscript.pdf |archive-date=2022-10-10 |url-status=live}}</ref>

== Drafting of women ==
[[File:Flickr - Israel Defense Forces - Karakal Winter Training (1).jpg|thumb|Female Israeli soldiers]]

Throughout history, women have only been conscripted to join armed forces in a few countries, in contrast to the universal practice of conscription from among the male population. The traditional view has been that military service is a test of manhood and a [[Religion:Rite of passage|rite of passage]] from boyhood into manhood.<ref>{{Cite book
| first=Ben
| last=Shephard
| title=A War of Nerves: Soldiers and Psychiatrists in the Twentieth Century
| publisher=Harvard University Press
| year=2003
| isbn=978-0-674-01119-9
| page=[https://books.google.com/books?id=We1HZDUTpdEC&pg=PA18 18]
| url=https://books.google.com/books?id=We1HZDUTpdEC
}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book
| title=Encyclopedia of sex and gender: men and women in the world's cultures
| volume=2
| first1=Carol R.
| last1=Ember
| first2=Melvin
| last2=Ember
| publisher=Springer
| year=2003
| isbn=978-0-306-47770-6
| pages=[https://books.google.com/books?id=oGasFR3USxYC&pg=PA108 108–09]
| url=https://books.google.com/books?id=oGasFR3USxYC
}}</ref> In recent years, this position has been challenged on the basis that it violates [[Social:Gender equality|gender equality]], and some countries, especially in [[Earth:Europe|Europe]], have extended conscription obligations to women.

Nations that in present-day actively draft women into military service are Bolivia,<ref>{{Cite CIA World Factbook|country=Bolivia|date=3 November 2021}}</ref> Chad,<ref>{{Cite CIA World Factbook|country=Chad|date=27 October 2021}}</ref> Eritrea,<ref name="cbccami">{{cite news|url=http://www.cbc.ca/news/background/military-international/|title=Women in the military – international|date=May 30, 2006|work=CBC News Indepth: International military|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130913015451/http://www.cbc.ca/news/background/military-international/|archive-date=September 13, 2013}}</ref><ref name="theecono">{{cite web|url=http://ethesis.helsinki.fi/julkaisut/eri/hecer/disc/106/theecono.pdf|title=The Economic Costs and the Political Allure of Conscription|access-date=2008-06-07|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080624234828/http://ethesis.helsinki.fi/julkaisut/eri/hecer/disc/106/theecono.pdf|archive-date=2008-06-24}} (see footnote 3)</ref><ref>{{Cite CIA World Factbook|country=Eritrea|date=8 November 2021}}</ref> [[Place:Israel|Israel]],<ref name=cbccami /><ref name=theecono /><ref>{{Cite CIA World Factbook|country=Israel|date=5 November 2021}}</ref> Mozambique,<ref>{{Cite CIA World Factbook|country=Mozambique|date=5 November 2021}}</ref> {{wipe|Norway}},<ref name=":4">{{Cite web|url=https://forsvaret.no/en/newsroom/news-stories/female-conscription|title=Universal Conscription|date=11 June 2015|publisher=Norwegian Armed Forces|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160305005856/https://forsvaret.no/en/newsroom/news-stories/female-conscription|archive-date=5 March 2016|url-status=live|access-date=25 June 2016}}</ref> North Korea<ref>{{Cite CIA World Factbook|country=North Korea|date=15 December 2021}}</ref>
and Sweden.<ref name=":5">{{Cite journal |last1=Persson |first1=Alma|last2=Sundevall |first2=Fia |date=2019-03-22 |title=Conscripting women: gender, soldiering, and military service in Sweden 1965–2018 |journal=Women's History Review|volume=28|issue=7|pages=1039–1056|doi=10.1080/09612025.2019.1596542|issn=0961-2025|doi-access=free}}</ref>

{{wipe|Norway}} introduced female conscription in 2015, making it the first NATO member to have a legally compulsory national service for both men and women.<ref name=":4" /> In practice only motivated volunteers are selected to join the army in Norway.<ref name="auto">{{cite web|url=http://www.dw.com/en/norways-military-conscription-becomes-gender-neutral/a-17995882|title=Norway's military conscription becomes gender neutral|work=Deutsche Welle|access-date=15 October 2016}}</ref>

Sweden introduced female conscription in 2010, but it was not activated until 2017. This made Sweden the second nation in Europe to draft women, and the second in the world to draft women on the same formal terms as men.<ref name=":5" />

Israel has universal female conscription, although it is possible to avoid service by claiming a religious exemption and over a third of Israeli women do so.<ref name="cbccami" /><ref name="theecono" /><ref>[http://forward.com/articles/121173/abuse-of-idf-exemptions-questioned/ "Abuse of IDF Exemptions Questioned"]. ''The Jewish Daily Forward''. 16 December 2009
</ref>

Finland introduced voluntary female conscription in 1995, giving women between the ages of 18 and 29 an option to complete their military service alongside men.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Naisten vapaaehtoinen asepalvelus - Puolustusvoimat - Intti edessä - Intti.fi Intti.fi|url=https://intti.fi/naisten-vapaaehtoinen-asepalvelus|access-date=2021-04-12|website=intti.fi|language=fi-FI}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|last=Oy|first=Edita Publishing|title=FINLEX - Säädösmuutosten hakemisto: 194/1995|url=https://finlex.fi/fi/laki/smur/1995/19950194|access-date=2021-04-12|website=finlex.fi|language=fi}}</ref>

Sudanese law allows for conscription of women, but this is not implemented in practice.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.wri-irg.org/programmes/world_survey/country_report/en/Sudan|title=World Resisters International: Sudan, Country Report|publisher=War Resisters' International}}</ref>
In the United Kingdom during World War II, beginning in 1941, women were brought into the scope of conscription but, as all women with dependent children were exempt and many women were informally left in occupations such as nursing or teaching, the number conscripted was relatively few.<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=NWAzKA6ihUEC|title=Conscription in Britain, 1939–1964: the militarisation of a generation|first=Roger|last=Broad|publisher=Taylor & Francis|year=2006|isbn=978-0-7146-5701-1|page=[https://books.google.com/books?id=NWAzKA6ihUEC&pg=PA244 244]}}<br />
^ {{Cite web|title=Conscription into military service|url=http://www.ppu.org.uk/learn/infodocs/st_conscription_l.html|website=Peace Pledge Union|access-date=2009-06-07|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090329105943/http://www.ppu.org.uk/learn/infodocs/st_conscription_l.html|archive-date=2009-03-29}}</ref>

In the Soviet Union, there was never conscription of women for the armed forces, but the severe disruption of normal life and the high proportion of civilians affected by [[Social:World War II|World War II]] after the German invasion attracted many volunteers for "The Great Patriotic War".<ref>{{Cite book
| title=Women at war, 1939–45
| first1=Jack
| last1=Cassin-Scott
| first2=Angus
| last2=McBride
| publisher=Osprey Publishing
| year=1980
| isbn=978-0-85045-349-2
| pages=[https://books.google.com/books?id=gPUtcFooPNoC&pg=PA33 33–34]
| url=https://books.google.com/books?id=gPUtcFooPNoC
}} </ref> Medical doctors of both sexes could and would be conscripted (as officers). Also, the Soviet university education system required Department of Chemistry students of both sexes to complete an ROTC course in NBC defense, and such female reservist officers could be conscripted in times of war. The United States came close to drafting women into the Nurse Corps in preparation for a planned invasion of Japan.<ref>{{Cite news
| url=http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,775362,00.html
| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090423010321/http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,775362,00.html
| archive-date=April 23, 2009
| title=Draft Women?
| date=January 15, 1945
| magazine=Time
| access-date=2008-08-12
}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Kalisch|first1=PA|author2=Kalisch PA|author3=Kalisch BJ|year=1973|title=The women's draft. An analysis of the controversy over the nurses' Selective Service Bill of 1945|journal=Nursing Research|volume=22|issue=5|pages=402–13|doi=10.1097/00006199-197309000-00004|pmid=4580476}}<!-- |access-date=2008-08-12 --></ref>

In 1981 in the United States, several men filed lawsuit in the case ''Rostker v. Goldberg'', alleging that the Selective Service Act of 1948 violates the Due Process Clause of the Fifth Amendment by requiring that only men register with the Selective Service System (SSS). The Supreme Court eventually upheld the Act, stating that "the argument for registering women was based on considerations of equity, but Congress was entitled, in the exercise of its constitutional powers, to focus on the question of military need, rather than 'equity.'"<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.law.cornell.edu/supct/html/historics/USSC_CR_0453_0057_ZS.html |title=Rostker v. Goldberg |publisher= Cornell Law School |access-date=26 December 2006 }}</ref> In 2013, Judge Gray H. Miller of the United States District Court for the Southern District of Texas ruled that the Service's men-only requirement was unconstitutional, as while at the time ''Rostker'' was decided, women were banned from serving in combat, the situation had since changed with the 2013 and 2015 restriction removals.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://eu.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2019/02/24/military-draft-judge-rules-male-only-registration-unconstitutional/2968872002/ |title= With women in combat roles, a federal court rules the male-only draft unconstitutional |last1= Korte |first1=Gregory |date=Feb 24, 2019 |work= [[Software:USA Today|USA Today]] |access-date= February 24, 2019}}</ref> Miller's opinion was reversed by the Fifth Circuit, stating that only the Supreme Court could overturn the Supreme Court precedence from ''Rostker''. The Supreme Court considered but declined to review the Fifth Circuit's ruling in June 2021.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://thehill.com/changing-america/respect/equality/539575-supreme-court-asked-to-declare-the-all-male-military-draft |title= Supreme Court asked to declare the all-male military draft unconstitutional |last1=Kelly |first1=Alexandra |date=Feb 19, 2021 |work= The Hill |access-date= February 23, 2021}}</ref> In an opinion authored by Justice Sonia Sotomayor and joined by Justices Stephen Breyer and Brett Kavanaugh, the three justices agreed that the male-only draft was likely unconstitutional given the changes in the military's stance on the roles, but because Congress had been reviewing and evaluating legislation to eliminate its male-only draft requirement via the National Commission on Military, National, and Public Service (NCMNPS) since 2016, it would have been inappropriate for the Court to act at that time.<ref>{{cite web | url  =https://www.cnbc.com/2021/06/07/supreme-court-wont-hear-case-challenging-male-only-draft-registration.html | title = Supreme Court won't hear case arguing military draft registration discriminates against men | first = Tucker | last=  Higgens | date = June 7, 2021 | access-date = June 7, 2021 | work = {{wipe|CNBC}} }}</ref>

On 1 October 1999, in Taiwan, the Judicial Yuan of the Republic of China in its Interpretation 490 considered that the physical differences between males and females and the derived role differentiation in their respective social functions and lives would not make drafting only males a violation of the Constitution of the Republic of China.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.judicial.gov.tw/constitutionalcourt/EN/p03_01.asp?expno=490 |title=Judicial Yuan Interpretation 490 |work=translated by Jiunn-rong Yeh |access-date=2008-01-28 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080603180450/http://www.judicial.gov.tw/constitutionalcourt/EN/p03_01.asp?expno=490 |archive-date=2008-06-03 }}</ref>{{Verify source|type=(see discussion)|date=September 2010}} Though women are not conscripted in Taiwan, transsexual persons are exempt.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.nca.gov.tw/04/showdit.asp?sid=&%A7%C7%B8%B9=393 |title=Attachment of the standard of the class of physical condition of a draftee |publisher=Conscription Agency, Ministry of the Interior |language=zh }}{{Dead link|date=August 2011|url=http://www.nca.gov.tw/04/showdit.asp?sid=&%A7%C7%B8%B9=393}}</ref>

In 2018, the Netherlands started including women in its draft registration system, although conscription is not currently enforced for either sex.<ref>{{cite web| url = https://www.dutchnews.nl/news/2018/10/girls-to-be-included-in-military-service-register-from-next-year/| title = Girls to be included in military service register from next year| date = 3 October 2018}}</ref>

==Conscientious objection==
A [[Social:Conscientious objector|conscientious objector]] is an individual whose personal beliefs are incompatible with military service, or, more often, with any role in the armed forces.<ref>On July 30, 1993, explicit clarification of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights Article 18 was made in the United Nations Human Rights Committee general comment 22, Para. 11: {{cite web|url=http://www.ohchr.org/EN/Issues/FreedomReligion/Pages/IstandardsI3k.aspx|title=Special Rapporteur on freedom of religion or belief. Framework for communications. Conscientious Objection|publisher=Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights|access-date=2012-05-07|archive-date=2017-09-26|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170926040943/http://www.ohchr.org/EN/Issues/FreedomReligion/Pages/IstandardsI3k.aspx}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.ohchr.org/EN/ProfessionalInterest/Pages/CCPR.aspx|title=International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights; See Article 18|publisher=Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights|access-date=2008-05-15}}</ref> In some countries, conscientious objectors have special legal status, which augments their conscription duties. For example, Sweden allows conscientious objectors to choose a service in the weapons-free [[Social:Civil defense|civil defense]].<ref>{{Cite web|title=Att vara vapenfri|url=https://www.pliktverket.se/monstring-och-varnplikt/monstring/att-vara-vapenfri|access-date=2022-02-24|website=www.pliktverket.se|language=sv}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|title=Så gör du om du inte vill göra värnplikt|url=https://www.svenskafreds.se/upptack/forsvars-och-sakerhetspolitik/vapenfri-tjanst/|access-date=2022-02-24|website=Svenska Freds|language=sv-SE}}</ref>

The reasons for refusing to serve in the military are varied. Some people are conscientious objectors for religious reasons. In particular, the members of the historic [[Religion:Peace churches|peace churches]] are [[Social:Pacifism|pacifist]] by doctrine, and Jehovah's Witnesses, while not strictly pacifists, refuse to participate in the armed forces on the ground that they believe that Christians should be neutral in international conflicts.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.jw.org/en/news/legal/legal-resources/information/packet-conscientious-objection-military-service/|title=Conscientious Objection to Military Service {{pipe}} Information Packet|website=JW.ORG}}</ref>

==By country==

=== Table ===
{| class="wikitable sortable mw-collapsible"<!--
 NOTE: Conscription column should always begin with "Yes", "No", or "sources differ" for proper sorting -->
|+Conscription by country – Examples
! width="170" |Country
! Conscription<ref name="NM-conscription">{{cite web | url=http://www.nationmaster.com/graph/mil_con-military-conscription | title=Nationmaster: Conscription | publisher= Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, Geneva, Switzerland, 1997. Data collected from the nations concerned, or as otherwise indicated}}</ref>
! Conscription sex

|-
| {{flag|Afghanistan}}
| style="background:#dff;" | No (abolished in 1992)
| N/A

|-
| {{flag|Albania}}
| style="background:#dff;" | No (abolished in 2010)<ref>{{cite web | last=Koci | first=Jonilda | title=Albania to abolish conscription by 2010 | url=http://www.setimes.com/cocoon/setimes/xhtml/en_GB/features/setimes/features/2008/08/21/feature-03 | date=August 21, 2008 | publisher=SETimes | access-date=4 September 2010}}</ref>
| N/A

|-
| {{flag|Algeria}}
| style="background:#ddf;" | Yes
| Male

|-
| {{flag|Angola}}
| style="background:#ddf;" | Yes
| Male

|-
| {{flag|Argentina}}
| style="background:#dff;" |No. Voluntary; conscription may be ordered for specified reasons per Article 19 of Public Law No.24.429 promulgated on 5 January 1995<ref>{{Cite web |title=Ley 24.429 del 14/12/94 |url=https://servicios.infoleg.gob.ar/infolegInternet/anexos/0-4999/802/norma.htm |access-date=2023-10-15 |website=servicios.infoleg.gob.ar}}</ref>
| N/A

|-
| {{flag|Armenia}}
| style="background:#ddf;" | Yes
| Male

|-
| {{flag|Australia}} (Conscription)
| style="background:#dff;" | No (abolished by parliament in 1972)<ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.aph.gov.au/library/pubs/cib/1999-2000/2000cib07.htm | title=Current Issues Brief 7 1999–2000 – Military Conscription: Issues for Australia | first=Gary | last=Brown | publisher=Parliamentary library; Foreign Affairs, Defence and Trade Group | date=October 12, 1999 | access-date=2007-08-10 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070819121822/http://www.aph.gov.au/library/pubs/cib/1999-2000/2000cib07.htm | archive-date=August 19, 2007 }}</ref>
| N/A

|-
| {{flag|Austria}}
| style="background:#ddf;" | Yes (alternative service available)<ref>{{cite web | title=Official information website|url=http://www.bmi.gv.at/cms/zivildienst/zugang/start.aspx }}</ref>
| Male

|-
| {{flag|Azerbaijan}}
| style="background:#ddf;" | Yes
| Male

|-
| {{flag|Bahamas}}
| style="background:#dff;" | No
| N/A

|-
| {{flag|Bangladesh}}
| style="background:#dff;" | No (but can volunteer at Bangladesh Ansar)
| N/A

|-
| {{flag|Barbados}}
| style="background:#dff;" | No
| N/A

|-
| {{flag|Belgium}}
| style="background:#dff;" | No (suspended for peacetime in 1992 and went active in 1994)<ref>{{cite web|url=https://radio2.be/lees/al-25-jaar-geen-verplichte-legerdienst-meer|title=Al 25 Jaar Geen Verplichte Legerdienst Meer!|publisher=Radio 2|access-date=2022-10-14}}</ref>
| N/A

|-
| {{flag|Belize}}
| style="background:#dff;" | No
| N/A

|-
| {{flag|Bhutan}}
| style="background:#dff;" |No<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/fields/2024.html | title=The World Factbook: Military service age and obligation | publisher=CIA | access-date=2011-07-11 | archive-date=2016-03-22 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160322125136/https://www.cia.gov/library//publications/the-world-factbook/fields/2024.html }}</ref>
| N/A

|-
| {{flag|Bolivia}}
| style="background:#ddf;" | Yes (when annual number of volunteers falls short of goal)<ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.nationmaster.com/country/bl-bolivia/mil-military | title=South America > Bolivia > Military | publisher=nationmaster.com }}</ref>
| Male and Female

|-
| {{flag|Bosnia and Herzegovina}}
| style="background:#dff;" | No (abolished on 1 January 2006)<ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.setimes.com/cocoon/setimes/xhtml/en_GB/features/setimes/special/dayton/peacekeeping/feature-11 | title=NATO and the Defence Reform Commission: partners for progress | publisher=setimes.com}}</ref>
| N/A

|-
| {{flag|Brazil}} (Conscription)
| style="background:#ddf;" | Yes, but almost all recruits have been volunteers in recent years.<ref name="Brasil">{{Cite web | url=http://www.brasil.gov.br/cidadania-e-justica/2013/11/publicidade-sobre-isencao-no-servico-militar-e-proibida | title=Publicidade sobre isenção no serviço militar é proibida | last=Brasil | first=Portal | website=Portal Brasil | language=pt-BR | access-date=2016-07-19}}</ref> (alternative service is foreseen in law,<ref>[http://www.planalto.gov.br/ccivil_03/leis/l4375.htm Lei No 4.375, de 17 de Agosto de 1964.] – Military Service Law at government's official website</ref> but it is not implemented<ref name="Brasil" />)
| Male

|-
| {{flag|Bulgaria}}
| style="background:#dff;" |No (abolished by law on 1 January 2008)<ref>{{Cite web | url=http://www.wri-irg.org/programmes/world_survey/country_report/en/Bulgaria | title=Country report and updates: Bulgaria22 October 2008 |website=War Resisters' International | date=22 October 2008 }}</ref>
| N/A

|-
| {{flag|Canada}}
| style="background:#dff;" | No (occurred during 1917-1918 and 1940-1945)
| N/A
|-
| {{flag|Chile}}
| style="background:#ddf;" | Yes
| Male

|-
| {{flag|China}}
| style="background:#dff;" | No (Male citizens 18 years of age and over are required to register for military service in the People's Liberation Army recruiting offices, but the policy is not enforced. Policy exempted in {{flag|Hong Kong}} and {{flag|Macao}})<ref>{{cite web | url=http://wri-irg.org/programmes/world_survey/country_report/en/China | title=Country report and updates: China |website=War Resisters' International | date=15 March 1998 | quote=All male citizens must register at the local PLA office in the year they reach the age of 18. Local governments get annual recruitment quotas, and local PLA offices select recruits according to medical and political criteria and military requirements. Call-up for military service then takes place at the age of 18.}}</ref><ref name="Kang2015" /><ref name="times_china" /><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.66law.cn/laws/1532152.aspx |title=中国服兵役是强制的吗 |website=66 Lawyer Consultant |date=8 March 2023 }}</ref>
| N/A

|-
| {{flag|Colombia}}
| style="background:#ddf;" | Yes
| Male
|-
| {{flag|Croatia}}
| style="background:#dff;" | No (abolished by law in 2008)<ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.setimes.com/cocoon/setimes/xhtml/en_GB/newsbriefs/setimes/newsbriefs/2007/10/05/nb-07 | title=Croatia to abolish conscription military service sooner | date=May 10, 2007 | work=Southeast European Times | access-date=2008-05-30 }}</ref>
| N/A
|-
| {{flag|Cuba}}
| style="background:#ddf;" | Yes
| Male

|-
| {{flag|Cyprus}} (Conscription)
| style="background:#ddf;" | Yes (alternative service available)
| Male

|-
| {{flag|Czech Republic}}
| style="background:#dff;" | No (abolished in 2005)<ref>{{cite web | title=Official site of Ministry of defense and armed forces of the Czech Republic | url=http://www.army.cz/scripts/detail.php?id=5762 | publisher=Ministry of Defence and Armed Forces of the Czech Republic | access-date=2 January 2013}}</ref>
| N/A

|-
| {{flag|Denmark}} (Conscription)
| style="background:#ddf;" | Yes by law, however a great majority of the recruits have been volunteers over the past few years.<ref>{{cite web | url=http://forpers.dk/hr/Pages/Vaernepligtige.aspx | title=Værnepligtige ('Conscripts') | website=Forsvarsministeriets Personalestyrelse | access-date=2016-11-23 | language=da | archive-date=2016-11-23 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161123054025/http://forpers.dk/hr/Pages/Vaernepligtige.aspx }}</ref> According to Jyllands Posten, conscription has ended in practice.<ref>{{cite web | url=http://jyllands-posten.dk/indland/article4335633.ece | title=Militæret er nu valgfrit | date=31 May 2010 | language=da}}</ref> (alternative service available)<ref name="retsinformation.dk">{{cite web | url=https://www.retsinformation.dk/Forms/R0710.aspx?id=6463 | title=Værnepligtsloven (Law on conscription) | language=da }}</ref><ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.retsinformation.dk/Forms/R0710.aspx?id=6464 | title=Lov om værnepligtens opfyldelse ved civilt arbejde (Law on fulfilling conscription duties by civilian work) | language=da }}</ref>
| Male

|-
| {{flag|Djibouti}}
| style="background:#dff;" | No
| N/A

|-
| {{flag|Ecuador}}
| style="background:#dff;" | No (suspended in 2008)
| N/A

|-
| {{flag|Egypt}} (Conscription)
| style="background:#ddf;" | Yes (alternative service available)
| Male

|-
| {{flag|El Salvador}}
| style="background:#dff;" |No. Legal, not practiced.
| N/A

|-
| {{flag|Eritrea}}
| style="background:#ddf;" | Yes (18 months by law, but often extended indefinitely)
| Male and female

|-
| {{flag|Estonia}}
| style="background:#ddf;" | Yes (alternative service available)
| Male

|-
| {{flag|Eswatini}}
| style="background:#dff;" | No
| N/A

|-
| {{flag|Finland}} (Conscription)
| style="background:#ddf;" | Yes (alternative service available)
| Male and Female

|-
| {{flag|France}}
| style="background:#dff;" |No (suspended for peacetime in 2001)<ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.wri-irg.org/programmes/world_survey/country_report/en/France | title=Country report and updates: France |website=War Resisters' International | date= October 23, 2008 }}</ref>Service national universel (military and civil applications) being instituted as of 2021
| Male and female

|-
| {{flag|Gambia}}
| style="background:#dff;" | No
| N/A

|-
| {{flag|Germany}} (Conscription)
| style="background:#dff;" |No (suspended for peacetime by federal legislature effective from 1 July 2011)<ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.gesetze-im-internet.de/wehrpflg/__2.html | title=WPflG – Einzelnorm | work=gesetze-im-internet.de}}</ref>
|Male
|-
| {{flag|Greece}} (Conscription)
| style="background:#ddf;" | Yes (alternative service available)
| Male

|-
| {{flag|Hungary}}
| style="background:#dff;" |No (peacetime conscription abolished in 2004)<ref>{{Cite web | url=http://www.wri-irg.org/programmes/world_survey/country_report/en/Hungary | title=Country report and updates: Hungary | date=October 23, 2008 |website=War Resisters' International }}</ref>
| N/A

|-
| {{flag|India}}
| style="background:#dff;" | No
| N/A

|-
| {{flag|Indonesia}}
| style="background:#dff;" | No (But has a similar system, called PKRS (''Pertahanan Keamanan Rakyat Semesta'', Universal People's Defense and Security). In the event of war, the government will draft all men and women).<ref>{{cite web |url=https://m.cnnindonesia.com/nasional/20191112075443-20-447516/konsep-pertahanan-rakyat-semesta-yang-diperjuangkan-prabowo# |title=Konsep Pertahanan Rakyat Semesta yang Diperjuangkan Prabowo |language=id |work=CNN Indonesia |date=12 November 2019 |access-date=28 July 2021}}</ref>
| N/A

|-
| {{IRL}}
| style="background:#dff;" | No
| N/A

|-
| {{flag|Iran}}
| style="background:#ddf;" | Yes
| Male

|-
| {{flag|Iraq}}
| style="background:#dff;" | No (abolished in 2003)
| N/A

|-
| {{flag|Israel}} (Conscription)
| style="background:#ddf;" | Yes
| Male and female Jews, male Druze and Circassians, male and female Arab volunteers

|-
| {{flag|Italy}}
| style="background:#dff;" | No (suspended for peacetime in 2005)<ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.wri-irg.org/programmes/world_survey/reports/Italy#sdfootnote4sym | author=warresisters | title=Italy | date=23 October 2008 | work=wri-irg.org | publisher=War Resisters International}}</ref>
| N/A

|-
| {{flag|Jamaica}}
| style="background:#dff;" | No
| N/A

|-
| {{flag|Japan}}
| style="background:#dff;" | No (abolished in 1945). Enlistment in Japan Self-Defense Forces is voluntary at 18 years of age.<ref>{{cite web | url=http://chartsbin.com/view/1887 | title=Military Conscription Policy by Country | last=ChartsBin | work=chartsbin.com | access-date=15 October 2016 | archive-date=16 October 2016 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161016123751/http://chartsbin.com/view/1887 }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Country report and updates |url=https://wri-irg.org/en/programmes/world_survey/country_report/en/Japan |access-date=2023-05-13 |website=War Resisters' International |language=en}}</ref>
| N/A
|-
| {{flag|Jordan}}
| style="background:#dff;" | Yes (ended in 1992, reinstated in September 2020 for unemployed men.) <ref>{{Citation |title=Jordan |date=2023-05-26 |url=https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/countries/jordan/#military-and-security |work=The World Factbook |access-date=2023-06-14 |publisher=Central Intelligence Agency |language=en}}</ref>
| Male

|-
| {{flag|North Korea}}
| style="background:#ddf;" | Yes<ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.country-data.com/cgi-bin/query/r-9627.html | title=North Korea, Military Conscription and Terms of Service | publisher=Based on the Country Studies Series by Federal Research Division of the Library of Congress | access-date=2007-08-12}}</ref>
| Male and female

|-
| {{flag|South Korea}}
| style="background:#ddf;" | Yes (alternative service available) The military service law was established in 1948.<ref>{{cite web | url=http://db.history.go.kr/item/level.do?levelId=dh_009_1948_11_16_0050 | title= Korean history databases}}</ref>
| Male

|-
| {{flag|Kuwait}}
| style="background:#ddf;" | Yes<ref>{{cite web | last1=Toumi | first1=Habib | title=Kuwait lawmakers approve military conscription | url=http://gulfnews.com/news/gulf/kuwait/kuwait-lawmakers-approve-military-conscription-1.1478464 | website=Gulf News | access-date=12 August 2015}}</ref>
| Male
|-
|{{flag|Latvia}}
| style="background:#ddf;" |Yes<ref>{{Cite web |title=Compulsory military service to be re-introduced in Latvia |url=https://eng.lsm.lv/article/society/defense/05.04.2023-compulsory-military-service-to-be-re-introduced-in-latvia.a503763/ |access-date=2023-04-12 |website=eng.lsm.lv |language=en}}</ref> (abolished in 2007, reintroduced on January 1, 2024)<ref>{{Cite web |title=Frequently asked questions about the State Defence Service {{!}} Aizsardzības ministrija |url=https://www.mod.gov.lv/en/state-defence-service/frequently-asked-questions-about-state-defence-service |access-date=2024-01-07 |website=www.mod.gov.lv |language=en}}</ref>
|Male
|-
| {{flag|Lebanon}}
| style="background:#dff;" |No (abolished in 2007)<ref name="CIA-le">{{Cite CIA World Factbook|country=Lebanon| access-date=2008-05-30 }}</ref>
| N/A

|-
| {{flag|Libya}}
| style="background:#ddf;" | Yes
| Male

|-
| {{flag|Lithuania}}
| style="background:#ddf;" | Yes<ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.baltictimes.com/lithuania_welcomes_first_495_volunteers_to_its_army | title=Baltic Times – Lithuania welcomes first 495 volunteers to its army}}</ref> (about 3000 to 4000 conscripts each year must be selected, out of whom up to 10% serve involuntarily<ref>{{Cite web | url=https://www.karys.lt/bendraukime/naujienos/baigiamas-2019-metu-saukimas-i-nuolatine-privalomaja-pradine-karo-tarnyba/296 | title=Baigiamas 2019 metų šaukimas į nuolatinę privalomąją pradinę karo tarnybą {{pipe}} Karys.lt | access-date=2020-01-18 | archive-date=2020-08-09 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200809013438/https://www.karys.lt/bendraukime/naujienos/baigiamas-2019-metu-saukimas-i-nuolatine-privalomaja-pradine-karo-tarnyba/296 }}</ref>)
| Male

|-
| {{flag|Luxembourg}}
| style="background:#dff;" | No
| N/A

|-
| {{flag|Malaysia}}
| style="background:#dff;" | No,<ref>{{cite news | url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/3299271.stm | title=BBC News – Asia-Pacific – Malaysian youth face call-up | work=bbc.co.uk | date=8 December 2003 | access-date=15 October 2016}}</ref> (Malaysian National Service) suspended from January 2015 due to government budget cuts<ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.thestar.com.my/News/Nation/2015/01/20/Budget-Revision-National-Service | title=Budget Revision: National Service 2015 suspended – Nation – The Star Online | work=thestar.com.my | access-date=15 October 2016}}</ref> resumed in 2016 then abolished in 2018. However, as of 2023 the government has announced its revival pending approval.
| N/A

|-
| {{flag|Maldives}}
| style="background:#dff;" | No
| N/A

|-
| {{flag|Malta}}
| style="background:#dff;" | No
| N/A

|-
| {{flag|Mexico}}
| style="background:#ddf;" | Yes
| Male
|-
| {{flag|Republic of Moldova}}
| style="background:#ddf;" | Yes<ref>{{cite web | last1=Olaru | first1=Anna | script-title=ru:В Молдове отменят обязательную военную службу | url=https://noi.md/ru/politika/v-moldove-otmenyat-obyazatelinuyu-voennuyu-sluzhbu | website=noi.md | access-date=22 April 2019 | language=ru | date=20 March 2018}}</ref>
| N/A

|-
| {{flag|Morocco}}
| style="background:#ddf;" | Yes (reintroduced in 2018)<ref>{{cite news | url=http://geographical.co.uk/people/cultures/item/2949-military-conscription | title=Reintroduction of military conscription in Morocco | last=Fitch | first=Chris | publisher=Geographical | date=26 October 2018 | access-date=22 November 2018 | archive-date=27 February 2021 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210227080130/http://geographical.co.uk/people/cultures/item/2949-military-conscription }}</ref>
| Male and female
|-
| {{flag|Mozambique}}
| style="background:#ddf;" | Yes<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.portaldogoverno.gov.mz/por/Cidadao/Servicos/Defesa-e-Seguranca/Recenseamento-e-Incorporacao-Militar | title= Military census and incorporation | publisher= Mozambique government official website| access-date=2022-01-13}}</ref>
| Male and female

|-
| {{flag|Myanmar}}
| <div style="background:yellow">Sources differ<br /></div><div style="background:#ddf;">Yes but not enforced {{as of|2011|1 | lc=yes}}.<ref>{{cite news | title=Burma to bring in conscription | url=https://www.google.com/hostednews/ukpress/article/ALeqM5iER3nuRWw5nz_MTulPlGhKiwzfWQ?docId=N0060871294635449524A | access-date=January 13, 2011 | date=January 11, 2011 }}{{dead link | date=June 2016 | bot=medic}}{{cbignore | bot=medic}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal | url=https://www.hrw.org/en/news/2002/10/15/burma-worlds-highest-number-child-soldiers | title=Burma: World's Highest Number of Child Soldiers | date=October 15, 2002 |website=Human rights Watch }}</ref><ref>{{Cite news | url=http://www.bnionline.net/news/narinjara/6791-six-youths-conscripted-into-burmese-army.html | title=Six Youths Conscripted into Burmese Army |work=Narinjara | date=August 4, 2009 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100614235517/http://bnionline.net/news/narinjara/6791-six-youths-conscripted-into-burmese-army.html | archive-date=June 14, 2010 }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web | url=http://www.wri-irg.org/node/8111 | title=Arakanese Youth Arrested and Conscripted by Burmese Army | date=June 19, 2009 |website=War Resisters' International  | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090624040528/http://www.wri-irg.org/node/8111 | archive-date=June 24, 2009 }}</ref><ref>{{Cite news | url=http://www.narinjara.com/details.asp?id=2293 | title=Six Youths Conscripted into Burmese Army |work=Narinjara | date=August 4, 2009 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110714155126/http://www.narinjara.com/details.asp?id=2293 | archive-date=July 14, 2011 }}</ref><br /></div><div style="background:#dff;">No (FWCC{{refn|Nationmaster : Conscription, citing [[Organization:Friends World Committee for Consultation|Friends World Committee for Consultation]] (FWCC)<ref name="NM-conscription" /> | name=NM-FWCC}})</div>
| Male and female

|-
| {{flag|Netherlands}}<br />(Conscription)
| style="background:#dff;" | No, active conscription suspended in 1997 (except for Curaçao and Aruba{{Citation needed | date=October 2011}})<ref>Conscription still exists, but compulsory attendance was held in abeyance per January 1, 1997 (effective per August 22, 1996), {{cite web | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070823213741/http://www.statengeneraaldigitaal.nl/thema_dienstplicht.html | archive-date=2007-08-23 | url=http://www.statengeneraaldigitaal.nl/thema_dienstplicht.html | title=Afschaffing dienstplicht | author=(unknown) | publisher=Tweede Kamer (Dutch House of Representatives) and the Koninklijke Bibliotheek (Royal Dutch Library) | date=October 12, 1999 | access-date=2009-07-27 }}</ref>
| Male and female

|-
| {{flag|New Zealand}}
| style="background:#dff;" | No (abolished in December 1972)
| N/A

|-
| {{flag|Nigeria}}
| style="background:#dff;" | No. However, under Nigeria's National Youths Service Corps Act, graduates from tertiary institutions are required to undertake national service for a year. The service begins with a 3-week military training.
| N/A

|-
| {{flag|North Macedonia}}
| style="background:#dff;" |No (abolished in 2006)<ref>{{Cite web | url=http://www.wri-irg.org/node/916 | title=Macedonia: Conscription abolished |website=War Resisters' International  | date=1 June 2006 }}</ref>
| N/A

|-
| {{flag|Norway}}
| style="background:#ddf;" |Yes by law, but in practice people are not forced to serve against their will.<ref name="auto" /> Also total objectors have not been punished since 2011, instead they are simply exempted from the service.<ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.wri-irg.org/node/13541 |website=War Resisters' International |title=Norway: end of substitute service for conscientious objectors}}</ref>
| Male and female

|-
| {{flag|Pakistan}}
| style="background:#dff;" | No
| N/A

|-
| {{flag|Philippines}} (Conscription)
| N/A

|-
| {{flag|Poland}}
| style="background:#dff;" |No (ended in 2009), but selective registration is still required.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Minárik |first1=Pavol |title=Polská armáda svolává k odvodovým komisím čtvrt milionu mužů a žen - Novinky |url=https://www.novinky.cz/clanek/zahranicni-polska-armada-svolava-k-odvodovym-komisim-ctvrt-milionu-muzu-a-zen-40458869#dop_ab_variant=0&dop_source_zone_name=novinky.sznhp.box&dop_req_id=iKjSYz24soS-202401291412&dop_id=40458869&source=hp&seq_no=1&utm_campaign=&utm_medium=z-boxiku&utm_source=www.seznam.cz |access-date=29 January 2024 |work=www.novinky.cz |date=29 January 2024 |language=cs}}</ref><ref>"Poland's defence minister, Bogdan Klich, said the country will move towards a professional army and that from January, only volunteers will join the armed forces.", {{cite news | url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/poland/2505447/Poland-ends-army-conscription.html |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220111/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/poland/2505447/Poland-ends-army-conscription.html |archive-date=2022-01-11 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live | title=Poland ends army conscription | first=Matthew | last=Day | date=5 August 2008 | newspaper=telegraph.co.uk | access-date=2009-02-11 | location=London}}{{cbignore}}</ref>
| N/A

|-
| {{flag|Portugal}}
| style="background:#dff;" |No (Peacetime conscription abolished in 2004 but there remains a symbolic military obligation to all 18-year-old people, from both sexes. It is called National Defense Day, (''Dia da Defesa Nacional'' in [[Social:Portuguese language|Portuguese]])).<ref name="def">{{cite web | url=http://juventude.gov.pt/Eventos/Cidadania/Paginas/DiaDefesaNacional-epoca2011-2012.aspx | title=Portal da Juventude – Dia da Defesa Nacional – Época 2011–2012 | author=Instituto Português da Juventude | work=juventude.gov.pt | access-date=2012-07-13 | archive-date=2017-10-20 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171020161928/http://juventude.gov.pt/Eventos/Cidadania/Paginas/DiaDefesaNacional-epoca2011-2012.aspx }}</ref>
| N/A (symbolic obligation is for both male and female)

|-
| {{flag|Qatar}}
| style="background:#ddf;" | Yes<ref>{{cite news |title=Now, military service must for Qatari males between 18 & 35 yrs |date=2018-04-05 |newspaper=Qatar Tribune |url=http://www.qatar-tribune.com/news-details/id/119481}}</ref>
| Male

|-
| {{flag|Romania}}
| style="background:#dff;" | No (stopped in January 2007)
| N/A

|-
| {{flag|Russia}} (Conscription)
| style="background:#ddf;" | Yes (alternative service available)
| Male

|-
| {{flag|Rwanda}}
| style="background:#dff;" | No
| N/A

|-
| {{flag|Saudi Arabia}}
| style="background:#dff;" | No
| N/A

|-
| {{flag|Serbia}} (Conscription)
| style="background:#dff;" | No
| N/A

|-
| {{flag|Seychelles}}
| style="background:#dff;" | No
| N/A

|-
| {{flag|Singapore}}
| style="background:#ddf;" | Yes
| Male

|-
| {{flag|Slovakia}}
| style="background:#dff;" |No (abolished on January 1, 2006)<ref>{{Cite web | url=http://www.epi.sk/zz/2005-570 | title=570/2005 Z. z. Zákon o brannej povinnosti {{!}} Aktuálne znenie | last=s.r.o | first=S.-EPI s r o, AION CS | website=epi.sk | language=sk | access-date=2019-05-04}}</ref>
|N/A

|-
| {{flag|Slovenia}}
| style="background:#dff;" |No<ref>{{Cite news | url=http://slonews.sta.si/index.php?id=1542&s=61 | title=Changing the Way Slovenia Sees the Armed Forces | date=November 18, 2003 |work=Slovenia News| access-date=2009-10-13 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110722111252/http://slonews.sta.si/index.php?id=1542&s=61 | archive-date=July 22, 2011 }}</ref>
| N/A

|-
| {{flag|South Africa}}
| style="background:#dff;" | No (ended in 1994, formalized in 2002)<ref>{{Cite web | url=http://www.sahistory.org.za/pages/governence-projects/organisations/ecc/index.htm | title=End Conscription Campaign (ECC) |website=South African History Online | access-date=2011-03-13 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101129223558/http://sahistory.org.za/pages/governence-projects/organisations/ecc/index.htm | archive-date=2010-11-29}}</ref>
| N/A

|-
| {{flag|Spain}}
| style="background:#dff;" |No (abolished by law on 31 December 2001)<ref>{{cite news | url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/spain/1332085/Conscription-ends-in-Spain-after-230-years.html |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220111/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/spain/1332085/Conscription-ends-in-Spain-after-230-years.html |archive-date=2022-01-11 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live | title=Conscription ends in Spain after 230 years | date=April 18, 2014| last1=Wilkinson | first1=Isambard }}{{cbignore}}</ref>
| N/A

|-
| {{flag|Sweden}}
| style="background:#ddf;" | Yes (abolished 2010, reintroduced 2017) (alternative service available)<ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.rekryteringsmyndigheten.se/plikten-idag | title=Login | website=www.rekryteringsmyndigheten.se | access-date=2017-03-09 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170311051108/http://www.rekryteringsmyndigheten.se/plikten-idag | archive-date=2017-03-11 }}</ref>
| Male and female

|-
| {{flag|Switzerland}}
| style="background:#ddf;" | Yes (alternative service available)<ref>[http://www.zentralstelle-kdv.de/z.php?ID=236 The situation of conscientious objectors in Switzerland – compared with the guidelines of the European Union], zentralstelle-kdv.de {{webarchive | url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150207164014/http://www.zentralstelle-kdv.de/z.php?ID=236 | date=February 7, 2015 }}</ref>
| Male

|-
| {{flag|Syria}}
| style="background:#ddf;" | Yes
| Male

|-
| {{flag|Taiwan}} (Republic of China)
| style="background:#ddf;" | Yes (alternative service available)<ref>{{Cite web | url=http://english.taipei.gov.tw/docms/index.jsp?categid=2073&recordid=1347 | title=Substitute Service Center |website=Department of Compulsory Military Service, Taipei City Government | access-date=July 25, 2008 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070324052011/http://english.taipei.gov.tw/docms/index.jsp?categid=2073&recordid=1347 | archive-date=March 24, 2007 }}</ref><br />According to the Defence Minister, from 2018 there will be no compulsory enlistment for military service,<ref name="auto1">{{cite web|url=http://focustaiwan.tw/news/aipl/201612120018.aspx|title=Military conscription to stop completely from 2018|work=Focus Taiwan|publisher=Central News Agency|location=Taipei, Taiwan|date=12 December 2016|access-date=14 December 2016|archive-date=29 August 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180829224103/http://focustaiwan.tw/news/aipl/201612120018.aspx|url-status=dead}}</ref> however all men born after 1995 have 4 months of compulsory military training, which will increase to 1 year after 2024.<ref>{{cite web |author=三立新聞網 |title=兵役確定延長！邱國正證實「年底前公告」民眾贊同：國家需要 |url = https://www.setn.com/News.aspx?NewsID=1191090 |access-date=2022-10-11}}</ref>
| Male

|-
| {{flag|Thailand}}
| style="background:#ddf;" | Yes, but can be exempted if completed three years of Territorial Defense Student training or picked the black card at the conscription lottery. The government intents to abolish it from 2027. <ref>{{Cite web |title="บิ๊กทิน" ชี้ปรับเกณฑ์ทหารแบบสมัครใจเม.ย.67-ลดนายพลปี 70 |url=https://www.thaipbs.or.th/news/content/331255 |access-date=2024-01-07 |website=Thai PBS |language=th}}</ref>
| Male

|-
| {{flag|Tonga}}
| style="background:#dff;" | No
| N/A

|-
| {{flag|Trinidad and Tobago}}
| style="background:#dff;" | No
| N/A

|-
| {{flag|Tunisia}}
| style="background:#ddf;" | Yes
| Male and Female

|-
| {{flag|Turkey}} (Conscription)
| style="background:#ddf;" | Yes<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.trthaber.com/haber/turkiye/yeni-askerlik-kanununa-onay-420705.html|title=Yeni Askerlik sistemi yürürlüğe girdi|website=TRT Haber|language=tr|date=25 June 2019}}</ref> 
| Male

|-
| {{flag|United Arab Emirates}}
| style="background:#ddf;" | Yes (alternative service available) Implemented in 2014, compulsory for male citizens aged 18–30)<ref>{{cite news | last=Salama | first=Samir | url=http://gulfnews.com/news/gulf/uae/government/mandatory-national-service-in-uae-approved-1.1344117 | title=Mandatory national service in UAE approved | work=GulfNews.com | date=7 June 2014}}</ref>
| Male

|-
| {{flag|Ukraine}}
| style="background:#ddf;" | Yes (abolished 2013, reinstated 2014 due to war and ongoing)<ref name="BBC News">{{cite news | url=https://metro.co.uk/2022/02/25/man-who-fled-ukraine-on-foot-says-conscripts-are-dragged-from-families-16176793/ | title=BBC News – Ukraine reinstates conscription as crisis deepens | newspaper=BBC News| date=2 May 2014 }}</ref>
| Male

|-
| {{flag|United Kingdom}} (Conscription)
| style="background:#dff;" | No (occurred from 1916 until 1920 and from 1939 until 31 December 1960, except Bermuda Regiment (abolished in 2018))<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.parliament.uk/business/committees/committees-archive/foreign-affairs-committee/fac-pn-35-07-08/|title=Committee Publishes Report on Overseas Territories (item 26)|publisher=UK Parliament|date=4 July 2008|accessdate=4 May 2023}}</ref>
| N/A

|-
| {{flag|United States}} (Conscription)
| style="background:#dff;" | No (abandoned in 1973), but registration is still required among men ages 18–25.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Selective Service System - It's Your Country. Protect it. |url=https://www.sss.gov/ |access-date=2022-11-18 |website=Selective Service System |language=en-US}}</ref>
| N/A
|-
| {{flag|Vanuatu}}
| style="background:#dff;" | No
| N/A

|-
| {{flag|Venezuela}}
| style="background:#ddf;" | Yes<ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.analitica.com/bitblioteca/venezuela/constitucion_ingles.pdf | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110926123131/http://www.analitica.com/bitblioteca/venezuela/constitucion_ingles.pdf | archive-date=2011-09-26 | title=Constitution of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela (Promulgation date) | date=December 20, 1999 | publisher=analitica.com | access-date=2009-11-01 | at=Articles 134, 135 }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web | url=https://www.refworld.org/docid/403dd226c.html | title=Venezuela: Military service, including length of service, existence of alternative forms of service and penalties imposed on those who refuse to serve |website=U.N. Refugee Agency | author=Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada | date=18 December 2003 | access-date=2021-08-14}}</ref>
| Male and female

|}

=== Austria ===
Every male citizen of the Republic of Austria from the age of 17 up to 50, specialists up to 65 years is liable to military service. However, besides mobilization, conscription calls to a six-month long basic military training in the {{lang|de|Bundesheer}} can be done up to the age of 35. For men refusing to undergo this training, a nine-month lasting community service is mandatory.

=== Belgium ===
Belgium abolished the conscription in 1994. The last conscripts left active service in February 1995. To this day (2019), a small minority of the Belgian citizens supports the idea of reintroducing military conscription, for both men and women.

=== Bulgaria ===
Bulgaria had mandatory military service for males above 18 until conscription was ended in 2008.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.wri-irg.org/en/story/2008/bulgaria-conscription-ended | title=Bulgaria: conscription ended |website=War Resisters' International}}</ref> Due to a shortfall in the army of some 5500 soldiers,<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.plovdiv24.bg/novini/Bylgaria/Purva-stupka-kum-vrushtaneto-na-kazarmata-769722 | title=Първа стъпка към връщането на казармата | date=16 January 2018 }}</ref> parts of the former ruling coalition have expressed their support for the return of mandatory military service, most notably Krasimir Karakachanov. Opposition towards this idea from the main coalition partner, GERB, saw a compromise in 2018, where instead of mandatory military service, Bulgaria could have possibly introduced a voluntary military service by 2019 where young citizens can volunteer for a period of 6 to 9 months, receiving a basic wage. However this has not gone forward.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.dnes.bg/politika/2018/01/29/staroto-se-uvolniava-zaicite-revat-i-eto-idva-karakachanova-kazarma.366403 | title=Старото се уволнява, зайците реват... И ето идва... Каракачанова казарма – Dnes.bg }}</ref>

=== Cambodia ===
Since the signing of the Peace Accord in 1993, there has been no official conscription in Cambodia. Also the National Assembly has repeatedly rejected to reintroduce it due to popular resentment.<ref>{{cite web |last1=UN and Amnesty International |title=Country report and updates: Cambodia |url=https://wri-irg.org/en/programmes/world_survey/country_report/en/Cambodia |website=www.wri-irg.org |date=August 1998}}</ref> However, in November 2006, it was reintroduced. Although mandatory for all males between the ages of 18 and 30 (with some sources stating up to age 35), less than 20% of those in the age group are recruited amidst a downsizing of the armed forces.<ref>{{cite web |last1=WRI, London 1998 and Xinhua News Agency |title=Cambodia introduces conscription |url=https://wri-irg.org/en/story/2006/cambodia-introduces-conscription#:~:text=Since%20the%20signing%20of%20the,reintroduce%20conscription%20in%20the%20past.&text=The%20draft%20law%20provided%20for,ages%20of%2018%20and%2035. |website=www.wri-irg.org |date=1 November 2006}}</ref>

=== China ===
[[File:Soldier Horse.JPG|thumb|upright|A terracotta soldier with his horse, China, 210–209 BC]]
Universal conscription in China dates back to the State of Qin, which eventually became the Qin Empire of 221 BC. Following unification, historical records show that a total of 300,000 conscript soldiers and 500,000 conscript labourers constructed the Great Wall of China.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.chinapage.com/friend/goh/beijing/greatwall/greatwall.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110718184726/http://www.chinapage.com/friend/goh/beijing/greatwall/greatwall.html|title=chinapage.com|archive-date=July 18, 2011|website=www.chinapage.com}}</ref> In the following dynasties, universal conscription was abolished and reintroduced on numerous occasions.

{{as of|2011}},<ref name=":3">{{Cite web | url=http://eng.mod.gov.cn/publications/2017-03/03/content_4774222.htm | title=Military Service Law of the People's Republic of China (2011 Amendment) [Effective] | last=Panyue | first=Huang | date=March 2017 | website=Ministry of National Defense The People's Republic of China | access-date=2018-10-12 | archive-date=2018-10-24 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181024012315/http://eng.mod.gov.cn/publications/2017-03/03/content_4774222.htm }}</ref> universal military conscription is theoretically mandatory in {{wipe|China}}, and reinforced by law. However, due to the large population of China and large pool of candidates available for recruitment, the People's Liberation Army has always had sufficient volunteers, so conscription has not been required in practice.<ref name="china_wri">{{cite web|url=https://wri-irg.org/en/programmes/world_survey/country_report/en/China#:~:text=Conscription%20has%20existed%20since%20the,Republic%20of%20China%20in%201949.&text=Military%20service%20is%20normally%20performed,conscription%20into%20the%20reserve%20forces |title=Country report and updates: China |website=War Resisters' International |date=15 March 1998 }}</ref><ref name="Kang2015">{{cite web|url=http://www.cna.com.tw/news/newsworld/201504020004-1.aspx|title=解放軍地位高 農夫搶當兵(The soldiers of PLA are respected, peasants are scrambling to join the army|publisher=（臺灣）中央社(Central Agent (Taiwan))|author=Kang Shi-ren (康世人)|date=2015-04-02|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20170203162818/http://www.cna.com.tw/news/newsworld/201504020004-1.aspx|archivedate=2017-02-03}}</ref><ref name="times_china">{{cite web|url=https://time.com/6245036/taiwan-conscription-military-comparison/ |title=Taiwan Is Extending Conscription. Here's How Its Military Compares to Other Countries |website=Times |date=6 January 2023 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.163.com/dy/article/HA13UNMI0531CPV5.html |title=很多国家都强制男子服兵役，为什么中国不需要？|website=NetEase News |date=16 June 2022 }}</ref>

===Cuba===

=== Cyprus ===
Military service in Cyprus has a deep rooted history entangled with the Cyprus problem.<ref>{{cite book |last=Efthymiou |first=Stratis Andreas |chapter=Nationalism, Militarism and Masculinity After the Construction of the Border |date=2019 |title=Nationalism, Militarism and Masculinity in Post-Conflict Cyprus |pages=23–53 |publisher=Springer International |doi=10.1007/978-3-030-14702-0_2 |isbn=978-3-030-14701-3|s2cid=198621467 }}</ref> Military service in the Cypriot National Guard is mandatory for all male citizens of the Republic of Cyprus, as well as any male non-citizens born of a parent of Greek Cypriot descent, lasting from the 1 January of the year in which they turn 18 years of age to 31 December, of the year in which they turn 50.<ref>{{Cite journal | last=Efthymiou | first=Stratis Andreas | s2cid=157301069 | date=2016-10-01 | title=Militarism in post-war Cyprus: the development of the ideology of defence | journal=Defence Studies | volume=16 | issue=4 | pages=408–426 | doi=10.1080/14702436.2016.1229126 | issn=1470-2436| url=http://repository.londonmet.ac.uk/5589/7/Stratis%20Andreas%20Efthymiou.%20Militarism%20in%20post-war%20Cyprus_%20the%20development%20of%20the%20ideology%20of%20defence.%20final%20edit..pdf |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20221010/http://repository.londonmet.ac.uk/5589/7/Stratis%20Andreas%20Efthymiou.%20Militarism%20in%20post-war%20Cyprus_%20the%20development%20of%20the%20ideology%20of%20defence.%20final%20edit..pdf |archive-date=2022-10-10 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.army.gov.cy/en/file/Mz7pGiPfUAqhGYAsl9Rd6A%3D%3D%3D/ |title=ΕΘΝΙΚΗΣ ΦΡΟΥΡΑΣ ΝΟΜΟΥΣ ΤΟΥ 1964 ΕΩΣ 2008 |website=www.army.gov.cy |access-date=17 January 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190609021921/http://www.army.gov.cy/en/file/Mz7pGiPfUAqhGYAsl9Rd6A%3D%3D%3D/ |archive-date=9 June 2019 }}</ref> All male residents of Cyprus who are of military age (16 and over) are required to obtain an exit visa from the Ministry of Defense.<ref>{{cite web |title=Άδειες Εξόδου |url=http://www.army.gov.cy/el/page/adeies-eksodou |website=army.gov.cy |publisher=National Guard General Staff |access-date=17 February 2021 |quote=όλοι οι Κύπριοι πολίτες, περιλαμβανομένων και των προσώπων που έχουν οποιοδήποτε από τους δύο γονείς κυπριακής καταγωγής, αλλά δεν έχουν καταστεί πολίτες της Δημοκρατίας, ηλικίας 16 μέχρι και 26 ετών, για να τους επιτραπεί η έξοδος από τη χώρα, απαιτείται όπως επιδεικνύουν στα λιμάνια και αεροδρόμια, άδεια εξόδου η οποία εκδίδεται από το Υπουργείο Άμυνας και τα κατά τόπους Στρατολογικά Γραφεία της Εθνικής Φρουράς. |archive-date=5 December 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201205023011/http://www.army.gov.cy/el/page/adeies-eksodou }}</ref> Currently, military conscription in Cyprus lasts up to 14 months.

=== Denmark ===
[[File:Copenhagen royal guard waiting.jpg|thumb|upright|Conscription duty as Royal Life Guards in Copenhagen]]

Conscription is known in Denmark since the [[History:Viking Age|Viking Age]], where one man out of every 10 had to serve the king. Frederick IV of Denmark changed the law in 1710 to every 4th man. The men were chosen by the landowner and it was seen as a penalty.

Since 12 February 1849, every physically fit man must do military service. According to §81 in the Constitution of Denmark, which was promulgated in 1849: <blockquote>Every male person able to carry arms shall be liable with his person to contribute to the defence of his country under such rules as are laid down by Statute. '''— Constitution of Denmark'''<ref>{{Cite web|url = http://www.parliament.am/library/sahmanadrutyunner/dania.pdf|title = Danish Constitution|website = Parliament}}</ref></blockquote>The legislation about compulsory military service is articulated in the Danish Law of Conscription.<ref>{{Cite web|title = Bekendtgørelse af værnepligtsloven|url = https://www.retsinformation.dk/Forms/R0710.aspx?id=6463|website = Retsinformation|access-date = 2016-02-18}}</ref> National service takes 4–12 months.<ref name=":1">{{Cite web|title = Værnepligt|url = https://www.borger.dk/Sider/Vaernepligt.aspx|website = Borger|access-date = 2016-02-18}}</ref> It is possible to postpone the duty when one is still in full-time education.<ref>{{Cite web|title = Forsvaret|url = http://www2.forsvaret.dk/temaer/vaernepligt/foerforsvaretsdag/Pages/default.aspx#Over6|website = www2.forsvaret.dk|access-date = 2016-02-18|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20160222160228/http://www2.forsvaret.dk/temaer/vaernepligt/foerforsvaretsdag/Pages/default.aspx#Over6|archive-date = 2016-02-22}}</ref> Every male turning 18 will be drafted to the 'Day of Defence', where they will be introduced to the Danish military and their health will be tested.<ref>{{Cite web|title = Mødet på Forsvarets Dag|url = http://www2.forsvaret.dk/temaer/vaernepligt/paaforsvaretsdag/Pages/default.aspx|website = Forsvaret|access-date = 2016-02-18|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20160224135634/http://www2.forsvaret.dk/temaer/vaernepligt/paaforsvaretsdag/Pages/default.aspx|archive-date = 2016-02-24}}</ref> Physically unfit persons are not required to do military service.<ref name=":1" /><ref>{{Cite web|title = Før Forsvarets Dag|url = http://www2.forsvaret.dk/temaer/vaernepligt/foerforsvaretsdag/Pages/default.aspx|website = Forsvaret|access-date = 2016-02-18|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20160222160228/http://www2.forsvaret.dk/temaer/vaernepligt/foerforsvaretsdag/Pages/default.aspx|archive-date = 2016-02-22}}</ref> It is only compulsory for men, while women are free to choose to join the Danish army.<ref>{{Cite web|title = Kvinder i Forsvaret|url = http://www2.forsvaret.dk/temaer/vaernepligt/KvinderIForsvaret/Pages/default.aspx|website = Forsvaret.dk |access-date = 2016-02-18|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20160224154112/http://www2.forsvaret.dk/temaer/vaernepligt/KvinderIForsvaret/Pages/default.aspx|archive-date = 2016-02-24}}</ref> Almost all of the men have been volunteers in recent years,<ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.dr.dk/nyheder/indland/19-unge-tvunget-i-militaeret | title=19 unge tvunget i militæret | work=dr.dk | date=13 October 2014 | access-date=15 October 2016}}</ref> 96.9% of the total number of recruits having been volunteers in the 2015 draft.<ref>{{Cite web|title = Værnepligtige|language = da|url = http://forpers.dk/hr/Pages/Vaernepligtige.aspx|website = Forsvarsministeriets Personalestyrelse|access-date = 2016-11-22|archive-date = 2016-11-23|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20161123054025/http://forpers.dk/hr/Pages/Vaernepligtige.aspx}}</ref>

After lottery,<ref>{{Cite web|title = Mødet på Forsvarets Dag|url = http://www2.forsvaret.dk/temaer/vaernepligt/paaforsvaretsdag/Pages/default.aspx#Over6|website = Forsvaret for Danmark|access-date = 2016-02-18|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20160224135634/http://www2.forsvaret.dk/temaer/vaernepligt/paaforsvaretsdag/Pages/default.aspx#Over6|archive-date = 2016-02-24}}</ref> one can become a conscientious objector.<ref>{{Cite web|title = Militærnægter|url = https://www.borger.dk/Sider/Militaernaegter.aspx|website = Borger|access-date = 2016-02-18}}</ref> Total objection (refusal from alternative civilian service) results in up to 4 months jailtime according to the law.<ref>{{Cite web|title = Bekendtgørelse af værnepligtsloven | language=da|url = https://www.retsinformation.dk/forms/r0710.aspx?id=6463|website = Retsinformation.de|access-date = 2016-11-22}}</ref> However, in 2014 a Danish man, who signed up for the service and objected later, got only 14 days of home arrest.<ref>{{cite web|title=René vil ikke i militæret: Nu skal han i fængsel|language=da|url=http://nyheder.tv2.dk/samfund/2014-12-14-rene-vil-ikke-i-militaeret-nu-skal-han-i-faengsel|website=Nyheder.TV2.dk|first=Sofie|last=Sparre|date=2014-12-14|access-date=2020-05-02}}</ref> In many countries the act of desertion (objection after signing up) is punished harder than objecting the compulsory service.

=== Eritrea ===
{{Excerpt|Conscription in Eritrea}}

=== Estonia ===

Estonia adopted a policy of ''ajateenistus'' (literally "time service") in late 1991, having inherited the concept from [[Place:Soviet Union|Soviet]] legislature. 
According to §124 of the 1992 constitution, "Estonian citizens have a duty to participate in national defence on the bases and pursuant to a procedure provided by a law",<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.riigiteataja.ee/en/eli/530122020003/consolide|title=The Constitution of the Republic of Estonia–Riigi Teataja|website=www.riigiteataja.ee}}</ref> which in practice means that men aged 18–27 are subject to the draft.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://kra.ee/en/national-defence-obligation/have-you-recently-become-an-estonian-citizen/|title=Have you recently become an Estonian citizen?|website=kra.ee}}</ref>

In the formative years, conscripts had to serve an 18-month term. An amendment passed in 1994 shortened this to 12 months. Further revisions in 2003 established an eleven-month term for draftees trained as NCOs and drivers, and an eight-month term for rank & file. Under the current system, the yearly draft is divided into three "waves" - separate batches of eleven-month conscripts start their service in January and July while those selected for an eight-month term are brought in on October.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://mil.ee/en/defence-forces/compulsory-military-service/|title=Conscript service|website=Estonian Defence Forces}}</ref> An estimated 3200 people go through conscript service every year. 

Conscripts serve in all branches of the Estonian Defence Forces except the {{wipe|Estonian Air Force}} which only relies on paid professionals due to its highly technical nature and security concerns. Historically, draftees could also be assigned to the border guard (before it switched to an all-volunteer model in 2000), a special rapid response unit of the police force (disbanded in 1997) or three militarized rescue companies within the Estonian Rescue Board (disbanded in 2004).

=== Finland ===
[[File:Suomalainen sotilasvala.jpg|left|thumb|Finnish conscripts swearing their military oath at the end of their basic training period]]

Conscription in Finland is part of a general compulsion for national military service for all adult males ({{lang-fi|maanpuolustusvelvollisuus}}; {{lang-sv|totalförsvarsplikt}}) defined in the 127§ of the Constitution of Finland.

Conscription can take the form of military or of civilian service. According to Finnish Defence Forces 2011 data slightly under 80% of Finnish males turned 30 had entered and finished the military service. The number of female volunteers to annually enter armed service had stabilised at approximately 300.<ref>[http://www.puolustusvoimat.fi/wcm/a2fcbb004bc4f18dabeeef82feb3371d/PV_vuke_2011_ENG.pdf?MOD=AJPERES Annual Report 2011. Page 29] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131220080827/http://www.puolustusvoimat.fi/wcm/a2fcbb004bc4f18dabeeef82feb3371d/PV_vuke_2011_ENG.pdf?MOD=AJPERES |date=2013-12-20 }} Finnish Defence Forces</ref> The service period is 165, 255 or 347 days for the rank and file conscripts and 347 days for conscripts trained as NCOs or reserve officers. The length of civilian service is always twelve months. Those electing to serve unarmed in duties where unarmed service is possible serve either nine or twelve months, depending on their training.<ref>[http://www.finlex.fi/fi/laki/ajantasa/2007/20071446 Siviilipalveluslaki (1446/2007)] (''Civilian service act''), 4§. Retrieved 1-24-2008. {{in lang|fi}}</ref><ref>[http://www.finlex.fi/fi/laki/ajantasa/2007/20071438 Asevelvollisuuslaki (1438/2007) (''Conscription act''), 37 §. Retrieved 1-24-2008.] {{in lang|fi}}</ref>

Any Finnish male citizen who refuses to perform both military and civilian service faces a penalty of 173 days in prison, minus any served days. Such sentences are usually served fully in prison, with no [[Social:Parole|parole]].<ref>[http://www.finlex.fi/fi/laki/ajantasa/2007/20071446?search%5Btype%5D=pika&search%5Bpika%5D=siviilipalveluslaki#L11P74 (''Civilian service act''), 74, 81§§. Retrieved 4-17-2013.] {{in lang|fi}}</ref><ref>[http://www.finlex.fi/fi/laki/ajantasa/2007/20071438 Asevelvollisuuslaki (1438/2007) (''Conscription act''), 118 §. Retrieved 1-24-2008] {{in lang|fi}}</ref> Jehovah's Witnesses are no longer exempted from service as of 27 February 2019.<ref>{{Cite web | url=https://yle.fi/uutiset/osasto/news/jehovahs_witnesses_lose_exemption_from_military_service/10666555 | title=Jehovah's Witnesses lose exemption from military service| date=28 February 2019}}</ref> The inhabitants of demilitarized Åland are exempt from military service. By the Conscription Act of 1951, they are, however, required to serve a time at a local institution, like the coast guard. However, until such service has been arranged, they are freed from service obligation. The non-military service of Åland has not been arranged since the introduction of the act, and there are no plans to institute it. The inhabitants of Åland can also volunteer for military service on the mainland. As of 1995, women are permitted to serve on a voluntary basis and pursue careers in the military after their initial voluntary military service.

The military service takes place in Finnish Defence Forces or in the Finnish Border Guard. All services of the Finnish Defence Forces train conscripts. However, the Border Guard trains conscripts only in land-based units, not in coast guard detachments or in the Border Guard Air Wing. Civilian service may take place in the Civilian Service Center in Lapinjärvi or in an accepted non-profit organization of educational, social or medical nature.

=== Germany ===

Between 1956 and 2011 conscription was mandatory for all male citizens in the German federal armed forces ({{lang-de|Bundeswehr}}), as well as for the Federal Border Guard ({{lang|de|Bundesgrenzschutz}}) in the 1970s (see Border Guard Service). With the end of the [[History:Cold War|Cold War]] the German government drastically reduced the size of its armed forces. The low demand for conscripts led to the suspension of compulsory conscription in 2011. Since then, only volunteer professionals serve in the {{lang|de|Bundeswehr}}.

=== Greece ===
[[File:Changing of the Guard-Unknown Soldier-Hellenic Army.jpg|thumb|Evzones of the Presidential Guard in front of the Greek Parliament armed with M1 Garands]]

Since 1914 Greece has been enforcing mandatory military service, currently lasting 12 months (but historically up to 36 months) for all adult men. Citizens discharged from active service are normally placed in the reserve and are subject to periodic recalls of 1–10 days at irregular intervals.<ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.stratologia.gr/pdf/N.3421-2005.pdf | title=ΕΦΗΜΕΡΙΣ ΤΗΣ ΚΥΒΕΡΝΗΣΕΩΣ ΤΗΣ ΕΛΛΗΝΙΚΗΣ ΔΗΜΟΚΡΑΤΙΑΣ | access-date=2012-04-10 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120105224001/http://www.stratologia.gr/pdf/N.3421-2005.pdf | archive-date=2012-01-05 }}</ref>

Universal conscription was introduced in Greece during the military reforms of 1909, although various forms of selective conscription had been in place earlier. In more recent years, conscription was associated with the state of general mobilisation declared on 20 July 1974, due to the crisis in [[Place:Cyprus|Cyprus]] (the mobilisation was formally ended on 18 December 2002).

The duration of military service has historically ranged between 9 and 36 months depending on various factors either particular to the conscript or the political situation in the Eastern Mediterranean. Although women are employed by the Greek army as officers and soldiers, they are not obliged to enlist. Soldiers receive no health insurance, but they are provided with medical support during their army service, including hospitalization costs.

Greece enforces conscription for all male citizens aged between 19 and 45. In August 2009, duration of the mandatory service was reduced from 12 months as it was before to 9 months for the army, but remained at 12 months for the navy and the air force. The number of conscripts allocated to the latter two has been greatly reduced aiming at full professionalization. Nevertheless, mandatory military service at the army was once again raised to 12 months in March 2021, unless served in units in Evros or the North Aegean islands where duration was kept at 9 months. Although full professionalization is under consideration, severe financial difficulties and mismanagement, including delays and reduced rates in the hiring of professional soldiers, as well as widespread abuse of the deferment process, has resulted in the postponement of such a plan.

=== Iran ===
[[File:Soldiers in Kermanshah, Iran-12.jpg|thumb|Assembling and disassembling gun parts by Iranian soldiers with closed eyes.]]
In [[Religion:Iran|Iran]], all men who reach the age of 18 must do about two years of compulsory military service in the IR police department or Iranian army or Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.<ref name=":6">{{Cite news |title=سربازی اجباری؛ نیروی کار ارزان در دست نظامیان |language=fa |work=BBC News فارسی |url=https://www.bbc.com/persian/blog-viewpoints-46584364 |access-date=2023-03-16}}</ref> Before the 1979 revolution, women could serve in the military.<ref>{{cite book |date=October 1973 |title=Middle East Record | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=s3torytPXdUC&pg=PA477 |location= |publisher=Dishon |page=477 |isbn=9780470216118}}</ref> However, after the establishment of the Islamic Republic, some Ayatollahs considered women's military service to be disrespectful to women by the Pahlavi government and banned women's military service in Iran.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2011-04-03 |title=مباحثه خواندنی آیت‌الله صافی‌گلپایگانی و آیت‌الله خزعلی در مجلس خبرگان بر سرآموزش نظامی زنان |url=https://www.khabaronline.ir/news/140472/مباحثه-خواندنی-آیت-الله-صافی-گلپایگانی-و-آیت-الله-خزعلی-در-مجلس |access-date=2023-03-16 |website=خبرآنلاین |language=fa}}</ref> Therefore, Iranian women and girls were completely exempted from military service, which caused Iranian men and boys to oppose.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2016-09-13 |title=جام نیوز :: JamNews - دختران ایرانی به سربازی می روند؟ |url=http://www.jamnews.ir/detail/News/236981 |access-date=2023-03-16 |archive-date=2016-09-13 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160913192500/http://www.jamnews.ir/detail/News/236981 |url-status=dead }}</ref>

In Iran, men who refuse to go to military service are deprived of their citizenship rights, such as employment, health insurance,<ref>{{Cite web |date=2020-02-10 |title=مرکز پژوهشها - قانون خدمت وظیفه عمومی |url=http://rc.majlis.ir/fa/law/show/90966 |access-date=2023-03-16 |archive-date=2020-02-10 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200210224726/http://rc.majlis.ir/fa/law/show/90966 |url-status=bot: unknown }}</ref> continuing their education at university,<ref>{{Cite web |date=2020-08-23 |title=اخطار سازمان وظیفه عمومی: داوطلبان کنکور امسال وضعیت سربازی خود را روشن کنند |url=https://www.khabaronline.ir/news/1424771/اخطار-سازمان-وظیفه-عمومی-داوطلبان-کنکور-امسال-وضعیت-سربازی-خود |access-date=2023-03-16 |website=خبرآنلاین |language=fa}}</ref> finding a job, going abroad, opening a bank account,<ref>{{Cite web |last=tebyan.net |date=2010-07-29 |title=اگر سربازی نروید ... |url=https://article.tebyan.net/132040 |access-date=2023-03-16 |website=fa |language=fa}}</ref> etc.<ref>{{Cite web |title=مشمولان غایب سربازی از دریافت چه خدماتی محروم می‌شوند؟- اخبار پلیس - اخبار اجتماعی تسنیم {{!}} Tasnim |url=https://www.tasnimnews.com/fa/news/1399/11/07/2440153/%D9%85%D8%B4%D9%85%D9%88%D9%84%D8%A7%D9%86-%D8%BA%D8%A7%DB%8C%D8%A8-%D8%B3%D8%B1%D8%A8%D8%A7%D8%B2%DB%8C-%D8%A7%D8%B2-%D8%AF%D8%B1%DB%8C%D8%A7%D9%81%D8%AA-%DA%86%D9%87-%D8%AE%D8%AF%D9%85%D8%A7%D8%AA%DB%8C-%D9%85%D8%AD%D8%B1%D9%88%D9%85-%D9%85%DB%8C-%D8%B4%D9%88%D9%86%D8%AF |access-date=2023-03-16 |website=خبرگزاری تسنیم {{!}} Tasnim |language=fa}}</ref> Iranian men have so far opposed mandatory military service and demanded that military service in Iran become a job like in other countries, but the Islamic Republic is opposed to this demand.<ref name=":6" /> Some Iranian military commanders consider the elimination of conscription or improving the condition of soldiers as a security issue and one of Ali Khamenei's powers as the commander-in-chief of the armed forces,<ref name=":6" /><ref>{{Cite web |date=2018-03-11 |title=سازمان سربازی ناجا - فرمايشات رهبری |url=http://vazifeh.police.ir/index.jsp?siteid=25&fkeyid=&siteid=25&pageid=5132 |access-date=2023-03-16 |archive-date=2018-03-11 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180311075553/http://vazifeh.police.ir/index.jsp?siteid=25&fkeyid=&siteid=25&pageid=5132 |url-status=dead }}</ref> so they treat it with caution.<ref>{{Cite news |title=یک قرن با پوتین و کلاه سربازی، از 'قبله عالم' تا 'ولی امر' |language=fa |work=BBC News فارسی |url=https://www.bbc.com/persian/61012214 |access-date=2023-03-16}}</ref> In Iran, usually wealthy people are exempted from conscription.<ref>{{Cite news |last=فردا |first=رادیو |date=2022-01-30 |title=بازگشت فروش خدمت سربازی در ایران؛ این بار تنها برای افراد مرفه |language=fa |work=رادیو فردا |url=https://www.radiofarda.com/a/sale-iran-parliament-military-service/31678149.html |access-date=2023-03-16}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=2022-01-30 |title=پولدارها دوباره سربازی نمی‌روند! |url=https://www.khabaronline.ir/photo/1597709/ببینید-پولدارها-دوباره-سربازی-نمی-روند |access-date=2023-03-16 |website=خبرآنلاین |language=fa}}</ref> Some other men can be exempted from conscription due to their fathers serving in the Iran-Iraq war.<ref>{{Cite web |last=mizanonline.ir |date=2023-03-16 |title=شرایط دریافت معافیت جانبازی برای مشمولان |url=https://www.mizanonline.ir/fa/news/799659 |access-date=2023-03-16 |website=fa |language=fa}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=2019-03-16 |title=معافیت با جانبازی پدر |url=http://vazifeh.police.ir/index.jsp?siteid=25&fkeyid=&siteid=25&pageid=5201 |access-date=2023-03-16 |archive-date=2019-03-16 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190316080544/http://vazifeh.police.ir/index.jsp?siteid=25&fkeyid=&siteid=25&pageid=5201 |url-status=dead }}</ref>

=== Israel ===

There is a mandatory military service for all men and women in [[Place:Israel|Israel]] who are fit and 18 years old. Men must serve 32 months while women serve 24 months, with the vast majority of conscripts being Jewish.

Some Israeli citizens are exempt from mandatory service:
* Non-Jewish Arab citizens 
* permanent residents (non-civilian) such as the [[Philosophy:Druze|Druze]] of the Golan Heights
* Male Ultra-Orthodox Jews can apply for deferment to study in Yeshiva and the deferment tends to become an exemption, although some do opt to serve in the military
* Female religious Jews, as long as they declare they are unable to serve due to religious grounds. Most of whom opt for the alternative of volunteering in the national service Sherut Leumi

All of the exempt above are eligible to volunteer to the Israel Defense Forces (IDF), as long as they declare so.

Male [[Philosophy:Druze|Druze]] and male Circassian Israeli citizens are liable for conscription, in accordance with agreement set by their community leaders (their community leaders however signed a clause in which all female Druze and female Circassian are exempt from service).

A few male Bedouin Israeli citizens choose to enlist to the Israeli military in every draft (despite their Muslim-Arab background that exempt them from conscription).

=== South Africa ===

There was mandatory military conscription for all white men in South Africa from 1968 until the end of apartheid in 1994.<ref name="saho">[https://www.sahistory.org.za/dated-event/military-service-becomes-compulsory-white-south-african-men Military service becomes compulsory for White South African men], South African History Online</ref> Under South African defense law, young white men had to undergo two years' continuous military training after they leave school, after which they had to serve 720 days in occasional military duty over the next 12 years.<ref name=nytsa/> The End Conscription Campaign began in 1983 in opposition to the requirement. In the same year the National Party government announced plans to extend conscription to white immigrants in the country.<ref name=nytsa>[https://www.nytimes.com/1983/12/28/world/south-africa-moving-to-widen-conscription.html SOUTH AFRICA MOVING TO WIDEN CONSCRIPTION] The New York Times. 28 December 1983</ref>

=== South Korea ===

=== Lithuania ===
Lithuania abolished its conscription in 2008.<ref>{{Cite web | url=https://svenska.yle.fi/artikel/2015/02/24/litauen-aterinfor-allman-varnplikt |title = Litauen återinför allmän värnplikt}}</ref> In May 2015, the Lithuanian parliament voted to reintroduce conscription and the conscripts started their training in August 2015.<ref>{{Cite web | url=https://svenska.yle.fi/artikel/2015/08/25/varnplikten-ar-tillbaka-i-litauen-hard-konkurrens-om-platserna |title = Värnplikten är tillbaka i Litauen - hård konkurrens om platserna}}</ref> From 2015 to 2017 there were enough volunteers to avoid drafting civilians.<ref>{{Cite news|title=Savanorių gali užtekti visam šaukimui|language=lt|work=LRT|url=https://www.lrt.lt/naujienos/lietuvoje/2/183526/savanoriu-gali-uztekti-visam-saukimui}}</ref>

=== Luxembourg ===
Luxembourg practiced military conscription from 1948 until 1967.

=== Moldova ===
Moldova, which currently has male conscription, has announced plans to abolish the practice. Moldova's Defense Ministry announced that a plan which stipulates the gradual elimination of military conscription will be implemented starting from the autumn of 2018.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.moldova.org/en/moldova-defense-ministry-conscription-will-gradually-abolished-starting-autumn/|title=Moldova Defense Ministry: Conscription will be gradually abolished starting from this autumn - Moldova.org|first=Cristi|last=Vlas|date=21 March 2018}}</ref>

=== Netherlands ===
Conscription, which was called "Service Duty" ({{lang-nl|dienstplicht}}) in the Netherlands, was first employed in 1810 by French occupying forces. Napoleon's brother Louis Bonaparte, who was King of Holland from 1806 to 1810, had tried to introduce conscription a few years earlier, unsuccessfully. Every man aged 20 years or older had to enlist. By means of drawing lots it was decided who had to undertake service in the French army. It was possible to arrange a substitute against payment.

Later on, conscription was used for all men over the age of 18. Postponement was possible, due to study, for example. Conscientious objectors could perform an alternative civilian service instead of military service. For various reasons, this forced military service was criticized at the end of the twentieth century. Since the Cold War was over, so was the direct threat of a war. Instead, the Dutch army was employed in more and more peacekeeping operations. The complexity and danger of these missions made the use of conscripts controversial. Furthermore, the conscription system was thought to be unfair as only men were drafted.

In the European part of Netherlands, compulsory attendance has been officially suspended since 1 May 1997.<ref name="DutchSuspended">{{cite web|title=Bestaat er een dienstplicht in Nederland|url=http://www.rijksoverheid.nl/onderwerpen/krijgsmacht/vraag-en-antwoord/bestaat-er-een-dienstplicht-in-nederland.html|access-date=26 December 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141226093348/http://www.rijksoverheid.nl/onderwerpen/krijgsmacht/vraag-en-antwoord/bestaat-er-een-dienstplicht-in-nederland.html|archive-date=26 December 2014}}</ref> Between 1991 and 1996, the Dutch armed forces phased out their conscript personnel and converted to an all-professional force. The last conscript troops were inducted in 1995, and demobilized in 1996.<ref name="DutchSuspended"/> The suspension means that citizens are no longer forced to serve in the armed forces, as long as it is not required for the safety of the country. Since then, the Dutch army has become an all-professional force. However, to this day, every male and – from January 2020 onward – female<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.rijksoverheid.nl/actueel/nieuws/2016/02/02/kaderwet-dienstplicht-wordt-aangepast-voor-vrouwen | title=Kaderwet dienstplicht wordt aangepast voor vrouwen | first=Ministerie van | last=Defensie | work=rijksoverheid.nl | access-date=15 October 2016}}</ref> citizen aged 17 gets a letter in which they are told that they have been registered but do not have to present themselves for service.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.rijksoverheid.nl/onderwerpen/defensiepersoneel/dienstplicht | title=Dienstplicht | date=12 January 2016 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210106011836/https://www.rijksoverheid.nl/onderwerpen/defensiepersoneel/dienstplicht | archive-date=6 January 2021 | url-status=live | access-date=6 January 2021 }}</ref>

=== Norway ===
Conscription was constitutionally established the 12 April 1907 with ''Kongeriket Norges Grunnlov § 119.''.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://lovdata.no/dokument/NL/lov/1814-05-17/KAPITTEL_6#KAPITTEL_6|title=Kongeriket Norges Grunnlov - F. Alminnelige bestemmelser - Lovdata|website=lovdata.no}}</ref> 
{{As of|2016|March}}, {{wipe|Norway}} currently employs a weak form of mandatory military service for men and women. In practice recruits are not forced to serve, instead only those who are motivated are selected.<ref>{{cite web | title=Norway's military conscription becomes gender neutral | url=http://www.dw.com/en/norways-military-conscription-becomes-gender-neutral/a-17995882 | access-date=2015-11-24 | publisher=Deutsche Welle}}</ref> About 60,000 Norwegians are available for conscription every year, but only 8,000 to 10,000 are conscripted.<ref name="Norwegian Armed Forces - Conscription Statistics">{{cite web | url=http://forsvaret.no/om-forsvaret/fakta-om-forsvaret/Sider/tall-og-statistikk.aspx | title=NDF official numbers | publisher=NDF | access-date=2007-07-16 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110112152739/http://forsvaret.no/om-forsvaret/fakta-om-forsvaret/Sider/tall-og-statistikk.aspx | archive-date=2011-01-12 }}</ref> Since 1985, women have been able to enlist for voluntary service as regular recruits. On 14 June 2013 the Norwegian Parliament voted to extend conscription to women, making Norway the first NATO member and first European country to make national service compulsory for both sexes.<ref name="NorwayConscription">{{cite news | title=Norway becomes first NATO country to draft women into military | url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-norway-women-conscription-idUSBRE95D0NB20130614 | access-date=2013-06-15 | work={{wipe|Reuters}} | archive-date=2015-01-28 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150128132614/https://www.reuters.com/article/2013/06/14/us-norway-women-conscription-idUSBRE95D0NB20130614 | url-status=live }}</ref> In earlier times, up until at least the early 2000s, all men aged 19–44 were subject to mandatory service, with good reasons required to avoid becoming drafted. There is a right of conscientious objection.

In addition to the military service, the Norwegian government draft a total of 8,000<ref>{{Cite web | url=http://www.sivilforsvaret.no/Aktuelt/Sistenytt/Sivilforsvaret-75-ar--klar-for-nye-oppgaver | title=Sivilforsvaret 75 år – klar for nye oppgaver – Sivilforsvaret.no | website=www.sivilforsvaret.no | language=no | access-date=2018-08-22 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180822214352/http://www.sivilforsvaret.no/Aktuelt/Sistenytt/Sivilforsvaret-75-ar--klar-for-nye-oppgaver/ | archive-date=2018-08-22 }}</ref> men and women between 18 and 55 to non-military [[Social:Civil defense|Civil defence]] duty.<ref>{{Cite web | url=http://www.sivilforsvaret.no/s/English | title=The Norwegian Civil Defence – Sivilforsvaret.no | website=www.sivilforsvaret.no | access-date=2018-08-22 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180822214030/http://www.sivilforsvaret.no/s/English/ | archive-date=2018-08-22 }}</ref> (Not to be confused with Alternative civilian service.) Former service in the military does not exclude anyone from later being drafted to the Civil defence, but an upper limit of total 19 months of service applies.<ref>{{Cite web | url=http://www.sivilforsvaret.no/Tjeneste/Tjenesteplikt/Fritak-fra-tjenesteplikt-i-Sivilfrosvaret | title=Fritak fra tjenesteplikt i Sivilforsvaret – Sivilforsvaret.no | website=www.sivilforsvaret.no | language=no | access-date=2018-08-22 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180822214014/http://www.sivilforsvaret.no/Tjeneste/Tjenesteplikt/Fritak-fra-tjenesteplikt-i-Sivilfrosvaret/ | archive-date=2018-08-22 }}</ref> Neglecting mobilisation orders to training exercises and actual incidents, may impose fines.<ref>{{Cite news | url=https://www.nrk.no/ostlandssendingen/en-av-ti-moter-ikke-1.11492106 | title=En av ti møter ikke | last=Wilden | first=Victoria | work=NRK | access-date=2018-08-22 | language=nb-NO}}</ref>

=== Serbia ===

{{As of|2011|01|01}}, Serbia no longer practises mandatory military service. Prior to this, mandatory military service lasted 6 months for men. [[Social:Conscientious objector|Conscientious objector]]s could however opt for 9 months of [[Social:Civil service|civil service]] instead.

On 15 December 2010, the Parliament of Serbia voted to suspend mandatory military service. The decision fully came into force on 1 January 2011.<ref>[http://www.politika.rs/rubrike/Drustvo/Vojska-Srbije-od-sutra-i-zvanicno-profesionalna.lt.html Vojska Srbije od sutra i zvanično profesionalna.] – ''Politika'' {{in lang|sr}}</ref>

=== Sweden ===
[[File:Swedish Soldiers Aiming.jpg|thumb|left|Swedish conscripts in 2008]]

Sweden had conscription ({{lang-sv|värnplikt}}) for men between 1901 and 2010. During the last few decades it was selective.<ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.forsvarsmakten.se/sv/information-och-fakta/var-historia/artiklar/varnplikt-under-109-ar | title=Värnplikten genom åren | language=sv | publisher=Swedish Armed Forces | access-date=29 March 2017 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170329170317/http://www.forsvarsmakten.se/sv/information-och-fakta/var-historia/artiklar/varnplikt-under-109-ar | archive-date=29 March 2017}}</ref> Since 1980, women have been allowed to sign up by choice, and, if passing the tests, do military training together with male conscripts. Since 1989 women have been allowed to serve in all military positions and units, including combat.<ref name=":5" />

In 2010, conscription was made gender-neutral, meaning both women and men would be conscripted on equal terms. The conscription system was simultaneously deactivated in peacetime.<ref name=":5" /> Seven years later, referencing increased military threat, the Swedish Government reactivated military conscription. Beginning in 2018, both men and women are conscripted.<ref name=":5" />

=== Taiwan ===
Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), maintains an active conscription system. All qualified male citizens of military age are now obligated to receive 4-month of military training. In December 2022, President Tsai Ing-wen led the government to announce the reinstatement of the mandatory 1-year active duty military service from January 2024.

=== United Kingdom ===
The {{wipe|United Kingdom}} introduced conscription to full-time military service for the first time in January 1916 (the eighteenth month of [[Social:World War I|World War I]]) and abolished it in 1920. Ireland, then part of the United Kingdom, was exempted from the original 1916 military service legislation, and although further legislation in 1918 gave power for an extension of conscription to Ireland, the power was never put into effect.

Conscription was reintroduced in 1939, in the lead up to [[Social:World War II|World War II]], and continued in force until 1963. Northern Ireland was exempted from conscription legislation throughout the whole period.

In all, eight million men were conscripted during both World Wars, as well as several hundred thousand younger single women.<ref>Roger Broad, ''Conscription in Britain 1939–1964: The Militarization of a Generation'' (2006)</ref> The introduction of conscription in May 1939, before the war began, was partly due to pressure from the French, who emphasized the need for a large British army to oppose the Germans.<ref>Daniel Hucker, "Franco-British Relations and the Question of Conscription in Britain, 1938–1939", ''Contemporary European History'', November 2008, Vol. 17 Issue 4, pp 437–56</ref> From early 1942 unmarried women age 20–30 were conscripted (unmarried women who had dependent children aged 14 or younger, including those who had illegitimate children or were widows with children were excluded). Most women who were conscripted were sent to the factories, but they could volunteer for the Auxiliary Territorial Service (ATS) and other women's services. Some women served in the Women's Land Army: initially volunteers but later conscription was introduced. However, women who were already working in a skilled job considered helpful to the war effort, such as a General Post Office telephonist, were told to continue working as before. None was assigned to combat roles unless she volunteered. By 1943 women were liable to some form of directed labour up to age 51. During the Second World War, 1.4&nbsp;million British men volunteered for service and 3.2&nbsp;million were conscripted. Conscripts comprised 50% of the {{wipe|Royal Air Force}}, 60% of the Royal Navy and 80% of the British Army.<ref>Jeremy A. Crang, "'Come into the Army, Maud': Women, Military Conscription, and the Markham Inquiry", ''Defence Studies'', November 2008, Vol. 8 Issue 3, pp. 381,–95; statistics from pp. 392–93</ref>

The abolition of conscription in Britain was announced on 4 April 1957, by new prime minister Harold Macmillan, with the last conscripts being recruited three years later.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.expressandstar.com/days/1950-75/1957.html | title=Those were the days | work=expressandstar.com | access-date=15 October 2016}}</ref>

=== United States ===
Conscription in the {{wipe|United States}} ended in 1973, but males aged between 18 and 25 are required to register with the Selective Service System to enable a reintroduction of conscription if necessary. President Gerald Ford had suspended mandatory draft registration in 1975, but President [[Biography:Jimmy Carter|Jimmy Carter]] reinstated that requirement when the [[Religion:Soviet–Afghan War|Soviet Union intervened in Afghanistan]] five years later. Consequently, Selective Service registration is still required of almost all young men.<ref>{{cite web |last=Gill |first=Linda |title=Military Conscription, Recruiting and the Draft |url=https://www.thoughtco.com/the-military-draft-3368269 |date=March 31, 2007 |publisher=ThoughtsCo}}</ref> There have been no prosecutions for violations of the draft registration law since 1986.<ref name="National Resistance Committee">{{cite web | last1=Hasbrouck | first1=Edward | title=Prosecutions of Draft Registration Resisters | url=https://hasbrouck.org/draft/prosecutions.html | website=Resisters.info | publisher=National Resistance Committee | access-date=28 March 2016}}</ref> Males between the ages of 17 and 45, and female members of the US National Guard may be conscripted for federal militia service pursuant to 10 U.S. Code § 246 and the Militia Clauses of the United States Constitution.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/10/246 | title=10 U.S. Code § 246 – Militia: composition and classes | website=LII / Legal Information Institute}}</ref>

In February 2019, the United States District Court for the Southern District of Texas ruled that male-only conscription registration breached the Fourteenth Amendment's equal protection clause. In ''National Coalition for Men v. Selective Service System'', a case brought by non-profit men's rights organisation the National Coalition for Men against the U.S. Selective Service System, judge Gray H. Miller issued a declaratory judgement that the male-only registration requirement is unconstitutional, though did not specify what action the government should take.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2019/02/24/military-draft-judge-rules-male-only-registration-unconstitutional/2968872002 | title= With women in combat roles, a federal court rules the male-only draft unconstitutional | last1= Korte | first1=Gregory | date=Feb 24, 2019 | work= [[Software:USA Today|USA Today]] | access-date= February 24, 2019}}</ref> That ruling was reversed by the Fifth Circuit. In June 2021, the U.S. Supreme Court declined to review the decision by the Court of Appeals.

=== Other countries ===
* Conscription in Australia
* Conscription in Canada
* Conscription in Egypt
* Conscription in France
* Conscription in Gibraltar
* Conscription in Malaysia
* Conscription in Mexico
* Conscription in New Zealand
* Conscription in Russia
* Conscription in Singapore
* Conscription in South Korea
* Conscription in Switzerland
* Conscription in Turkey
* Conscription in Ukraine
* Conscription in the Ottoman Empire
* Conscription in the Russian Empire

==See also==
{{Div col}}
* Civil conscription
* Civilian Public Service
* Corvée
* [[Finance:Economic conscription|Economic conscription]]
* Quota System
* [[Social:Male expendability|Male expendability]]
* Pospolite ruszenie, mass mobilization in Poland
* Bevin Boys
* Counter-recruitment
* Draft evasion
* Ephebic Oath
* Home front during World War I
* Home front during World War II
* List of countries by number of military and paramilitary personnel
* Military recruitment
* Timeline of women's participation in warfare
* War resister
{{Div col end}}

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==Further reading==
{{refbegin|30em}}
* Burk, James (April 1989). "Debating the Draft in America", Armed Forces and Society p. vol. 15: pp.&nbsp;431–48.
* Challener, Richard D. ''The French theory of the nation in arms, 1866–1939'' (1955)
* Chambers, John Whiteclay. ''To Raise an Army: The Draft Comes to Modern America'' (1987)
* {{cite book |last=Fitzpatrick |first=Edward |title=Conscription and America: A Study of Conscription in a Democracy |publisher=Richard Publishing Company |year=1940 |asin=B000GY5QW2 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=vDBrQgAACAAJ&q=Conscription+and+America:+A+Study+of+Conscription+in+a+Democracy }}
* Flynn, George Q. (1998 33(1): 5–20). "Conscription and Equity in Western Democracies, 1940–75", ''Journal of Contemporary History'' [https://www.jstor.org/pss/260994 in JSTOR]
* {{cite book |last=Flynn |first=George Q. |title=Conscription and Democracy: The Draft in France, Great Britain, and the United States |publisher= Greenwood |year=2001 |page=303 |isbn=0-313-31912-X }}
* {{cite journal |last=Kestnbaum |first=Meyer |s2cid=144169554 |url=http://afs.sagepub.com/cgi/content/abstract/27/1/7 |title=Citizenship and Compulsory Military Service: The Revolutionary Origins of Conscription in the United States |journal=Armed Forces & Society |date=October 2000 |volume=27 |pages=7–36 |doi=10.1177/0095327X0002700103 }}
* {{cite book |last=Levi |first=Margaret |year=1997 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=V4l7Zs-mtA8C |title=Consent, Dissent and Patriotism |location=New York |publisher=Cambridge University Press |isbn=978-0-521-59961-0 }} Looks at citizens' responses to military conscription in several democracies since the French Revolution.
* {{cite book |last= Linch |first= Kevin |year= 2012 |url= http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:0159-2011121234 |title= Conscription |location= Mainz |publisher= Institute of European History (IEG) }}
* Krueger, Christine, and Sonja Levsen, eds. ''War Volunteering in Modern Times: From the French Revolution to the Second World War'' (Palgrave Macmillan 2011)
* {{cite journal |last=Leander |first=Anna |url=http://afs.sagepub.com/cgi/content/abstract/30/4/571 |title=Drafting Community: Understanding the Fate of Conscription |journal=Armed Forces & Society |date=July 2004 |volume=30 |issue=4 |pages=571–99 |doi=10.1177/0095327X0403000404 |s2cid=145254127 |access-date=2009-07-10 |archive-date=2009-06-01 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090601072148/http://afs.sagepub.com/cgi/content/abstract/30/4/571 }}
* Littlewood, David. "Conscription in Britain, New Zealand, Australia and Canada during the Second World War", ''History Compass'' 18#4 (2020) [https://doi.org/10.1111/hic3.12611 online]
* {{cite journal |last=MacLean |first=Alair |title=The Privileges of Rank: The Peacetime Draft and Later-life Attainment |journal=Armed Forces & Society |year=2008 |volume=34 |issue=4 |pages=682–713 |date= July 2008 |doi=10.1177/0095327X07310336 |pmid=20842210 |pmc=2937255 }}
* {{cite book |editor1=Mjoset, Lars |editor2=Van Holde, Stephen |year=2002 |title=The Comparative Study of Conscription in the Armed Forces |location= Amsterdam |publisher=JAI Press/Elsevier Science Ltd. |page=424 }}
* {{cite book |last=Nau |first=Terry L. |date=2013 |chapter=Chapter 1: Draft Bait |title=Reluctant Soldier... Proud Veteran: How a cynical Vietnam vet learned to take pride in his service to the USA |location=Leipzig |publisher=Amazon Distribution GmbH |pages=1–12 |isbn=9781482761498 |oclc=870660174}}
* {{cite journal | last1 = Pfaffenzeller | first1 = Stephan | s2cid = 145286033 | year = 2010 | title = Conscription and Democracy: The Mythology of Civil-Military Relations | journal = Armed Forces & Society | volume = 36 | issue = 3| pages = 481–504 | doi = 10.1177/0095327X09351226 }}
* {{cite book |last=Sorensen |first=Henning |url=http://afs.sagepub.com/cgi/content/abstract/26/2/313 |title=Conscription in Scandinavia During the Last Quarter Century: Developments and Arguments |publisher=Armed Forces & Society |date=January 2000 |volume=26 |pages=313–34 }}
* {{cite book |last=Stevenson |first=Michael D. |year=2001 |title=Canada's Greatest Wartime Muddle: National Selective Service and the Mobilization of Human Resources during World War II |publisher=McGill-Queen's University Press |page=235 |isbn=0-7735-2263-8 }}
{{refend}}

==External links==


[[Category:Political theories]]

{{Sourceattribution|Conscription}}