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The Europe Dispatch by Minna Alander

The Conscription Comeback and the Social Contract

In this week’s Europe Dispatch, Minna Ålander looks at the question of obligatory military service and what the existing conscription systems – and their social acceptability – look like in the Nordic

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Minna Ålander
Jun 18, 2025
∙ Paid

Hello Everyone,

The question of (re)introducing conscription is currently a hot topic in Europe. While I come from a country with an unbroken tradition of obligatory military service for male citizens (voluntary for women), I tend to be rather sceptical about the idea that conscription would solve the problem of growing European troop numbers. In some ca…

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