Europe turns to conscription as threat of wider war with Russia grows

4 comments

1. >Before Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine, many, including Kyiv, were skeptical that a major war could return to Europe. More than two years on, another shift once unthinkable is underway on conscription. Several European nations have reintroduced or expanded compulsory military service amid Moscow’s mounting threat, part of a range of policies aimed at boosting defenses that are likely to be scaled up even further.

2. I do worry about the calibre of soldier that conscription might bring. In the UK there is already a sizeable portion of the population who don’t even like the country they are in and would not fight for it let alone somewhere off our shores. Norway has a very good scheme I believe where only the best will do

3. I’ve sometimes wondered if conscription isn’t something that could actually be helpful for young people today, especially at risk youth. It gives them a clean slate and they get to see places and do things they otherwise wouldn’t ever have a chance at. They get pushed out of their routine and their comfort zone and they get a taste of what life could be. It’s not a panacea for everything of course but the benefits to the individuals and for the county are numerous. Just make sure the elites are treated equally.

4. Coming from a country which has mandatory national service (most do military service) for men and voluntary for women… It’s not perfect but it just works. And I think part of the people being there voluntarily is really important, even if it can be thought to be unfair from a point of view, because it forces keeping things good… otherwise the volunteers just quit at the point they’re asked if they want to complete the service or abort.

   People in countries where very few people get military training… the population must be just clueless to the sad reality of our world, where another country indeed can, and historically does, send people over to kill and enslave you. It’s all theoretical to most normal people in the West, I think. Until the day it is not. Staving off that day requires preparing for that day, and never forgetting the lessons of history.