Conscription
How Russia Is Growing Its Military in the Ongoing War with Ukraine
Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a decree to see as many as 160,000 individuals called for military service, surpassing the 133,000 conscripted personnel last fall.
Russia’s Military Draft Means Trouble for Ukraine (And Putin, Too)
Throughout the three-year war, the Kremlin has been very careful to avoid conscripting men from the country’s most politically influential parts.
Russia’s Army Recruitment Nightmare Is Only Beginning
Putin’s attritional strategy in Ukraine means that troops do not get the opportunity to gain valuable combat experience on the battlefield—because the whole model is based on exchanging men for...
South Korea’s Demographics Crisis is a National Security Threat
The decline in total population is an expected trend in nearly all developed countries. South Korea’s demographic woes are the most severe. It is evident that the problem is accelerating...
Ukraine’s Post-War Military: The Case for Professionalism
Conscription—long thought to have been on the outs in the European military tradition—has featured prominently throughout the nearly two-year-old war in Ukraine. Despite the appearance of novel uses of technology,...
Putin Met With Immediate Backlash Against Partial Mobilization
Russian opposition voices have called for protests in the wake of President Vladimir Putin’s Wednesday speech declaring a partial wartime mobilization. Russia’s Vesna (Spring) opposition movement has urged protests against...
Should South Korea Adopt An All-Volunteer Force?
Arguments against South Korea’s military conscription system abound. First, as CATO Institute scholar Doug Bandow has pointed out, the draft allows the government to secure enough “cannon fodder” while shifting...
Russia’s Invasion of Ukraine Is Changing the Taiwanese Military
Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and the United States’ limited response to an endangered non-treaty ally like Taiwan has forced Taiwan to reflect on its ability to deter a potential Chinese...
Finland’s Unique Defense Strategy Makes it Ready for Anything
Key Point: Finland’s defense is built around a number of “readiness units” that can be called up as needed during an escalating crisis. Russia is supposed to be the master of...
How To Stop A New ‘Forever War’: Bring Back the Draft?
After President Donald Trump ordered the assassination of Iran’s Qasem Soleimani, raising the possibility of deadly retaliation, panicked draft-age men crashed the Selective Service website. They worried that conscription might...
‘Mad Dog’ Mattis Bites Back At Trump
Former Defense Secretary James Mattis took repeated shots at President Donald Trump during the annual Al Smith Memorial Foundation dinner Thursday night. Mattis called himself the “Meryl Streep of generals”...
What Does the Future Hold for Germany’s Bundeswehr after 2017?
“It is our strategy that necessitates the dissolution of NATO” so stated the 1998 election platform of the German Green Party. One year later, under the supervision of the leftist...