Information AboutConscription |
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Conscription is a general term for involuntary labor demanded by some established authority, but it is most often used in the specific sense of government policies that require citizens (often just males) to serve in their Armed Forces . It is known by various names — for example, the most recent conscription program in the United States was known colloquially as "''' The Draft '''". Many nations do not ''maintain'' conscription forces, instead relying on a volunteer or professional military most of the time, although many of these countries still reserve the possibility of conscription for wartime and "crises" of supply. "Conscription" has also sometimes been used as a general term for non-military Involuntary Labour demanded by some established authority; for example, some translators of Old Testament commentaries use the term to describe the levies of labour used to build the Temple Of Solomon . In Japan during World War II , Japanese women and children were conscripted to work in factories. Referring to forced service in the armed forces, the term "conscription" has two main meanings:
The term "conscription" refers only to the mandatory service; thus, those undergoing conscription are known as "conscripts" or "selectee" in the United States (from the Selective Service System or the Selective Service Initiative announced in 2004 ). In the U.S. the term "enlisted" is often used to refer only to those who have volunteered for service in roles other than as Commissioned Officers . HISTORY Premodern developments One of the earliest known large-scale usages of conscription dates back to the time of Darius I Of Persia . Invention of modern conscription Modern conscription was invented during the ." It enabled the creation of the '' Grande Armée '', what Napoleon Bonaparte called "the Nation In Arms ", which successfully battled European professional armies. Conscription was introduced in the Union Army during the American Civil War . The 1863 Enrollment Act permitted draftees to hire paid substitutes to fight in their place. This, and the Bounty system, led to widespread dislike of conscription by the public at large; the New York Draft Riots were one symptom. In addition, draftees were viewed with disdain by volunteer soldiers and their officers. In the end, the draft provided only 6% of the Union Army's manpower. Conscription was not employed again in the U.S. until 1917.http://www.ausa.org/webpub/DeptArmyMagazine.nsf/byid/TWAH-759L7H?OpenDocument&Print=1 According to philosopher Michel Foucault , conscription is one of the forms taken by " Disciplinary Institution s", along with hospitals, schools and prisons. Louis Althusser has also underlined how Machiavelli was one of the first modern theorists to think the relationship between conscription and the creation of a nation, or successfully bolstering Patriotism . Machiavelli despised the use of Mercenaries and professional armies, which at this time were ravaging the divided Italian states. When the conscripts are being sent to foreign wars that do not directly affect the security of the nation, has historically been highly politically contentious in democracies. For instance, during ) In the United States, the increasing emphasis on technological firepower and the sheer unlikelihood of a conventional military assault, as well as memories of the contentiousness of the Vietnam War experience, make mass conscription unlikely in the foreseeable future. Also, the United States have a considerable nuclear weapons arsenal, and rely on Nuclear Deterrent . Several developed nations, however, do not rely on nuclear deterrent and maintain conscription. GENDER ISSUE Some countries that draft women include North Korea , Libya , Israel , and Eritrea . In 2002 , Sweden 's government asked the army to consider mandatory military service for women. Some have considered the practice of excluding women from the draft unfair, because they feel it goes against principles of Equality . Some simply argue that women can be militarily useful, and that excluding them places an unnecessary limit on resources. During World War II, women were drafted into the armed forces of the United Kingdom and the Soviet Union . The United States came close to drafting women into the Nurse Corps in preparation for a planned invasion of Japan; the Japanese surrender made this unnecessary. The non- Egalitarian policy practiced by some countries of drafting men and not women has often been a flash point and source of conflict. This policy is often cited by some Masculists as an example of an unfair policy, which benefits women over men. Gender Egalitarians point out that, in the long run, such a policy supports social thinking about women as weaker and less able beings, and is therefore not really an overall benefit to women - more of a double edged sword (or golden chain). Apprehension about the possible conscription of women was a key factor that led to the defeat of the Equal Rights Amendment in the United States. In 1981 in the United States, several men filed lawsuit in the case '' Rostker V. Goldberg '', alleging that the Military Selective Service Act violates the Due Process Clause of the Fifth Amendment by requiring that men only and not also women register with the 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.'" Rostker v. Goldberg , Cornell Law School, retrieved 26 Dec. 2006. Conscription certainly imposes on the freedom of the individual and although some conscripts feel that they benefited from the experience others feel that their time could have been spent more productively pursuing their chosen studies or career paths." France salutes end of military service ", BBC News, November 29, 2001. Retrieved 29 September 2006. Individual resentment may also be compounded by the typically low wages paid to conscripts, especially in countries such as Greece , Finland and Singapore . CONSCIENTIOUS OBJECTION See Also: Conscientious objection Antimilitarism Conscientious objection throughout the world A Conscientious Objector is an individual whose personal beliefs are incompatible with Military Service , or sometimes with any role in the armed forces. 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" branch, such as an airport Fireman , Nurse or Telecommunications technician. Some may also refuse such service as they feel that they still are a part of the military complex. The reasons for refusing to serve are varied. Some conscientious objectors are so for religious reasons — notably, the members of the Historic Peace Churches are Pacifist by doctrine, and Jehovah's Witnesses , while not strictly speaking pacifists, refuse to participate in the armed services on the grounds that they believe Christians should be neutral in worldly conflicts. DRAFT EVADERS Not everyone who is conscripted is willing to go to war. In the United States, especially during the Vietnam Era, many young people used their family's political connections to ensure that they were placed well away from any potential harm. Those with political influence often joined the military and served in what was termed a Champagne Unit . Many would avoid military service altogether through college deferments, by becoming fathers, or serving in various exempt jobs (teaching was one possibility). Others used educational exemptions, became conscientious objectors or pretended to be conscientious objectors, although they might then be drafted for non-combat work, such as serving as a Combat Medic . It was also possible they could be asked to do similar civilian work, such as being a hospital orderly. It was, in fact, quite easy for those with some knowledge of the system to avoid being drafted. A simple route, widely publicized, was to get a medical rejection. While a person could claim to have symptoms (or feign Homosexuality ), if enough physicians sent letters that a person had a problem, he might well be rejected. It often wasn't worth the Army's time to dispute this claim. Such an approach worked best in a larger city where there was no stigma to not serving, and the potential draftee was not known to those reviewing him. For others, the most common method of avoiding the draft was to cross the border into another country. People who have been "called up" for military service and who attempted to avoid it in some way were known as " Draft-dodger s". Particularly during the Vietnam War, U.S. draft-dodgers usually made their way to Canada , Mexico or Sweden . Many people looked upon draft-dodgers with scorn as being "cowards", but some supported them in their efforts. In the late years of the war, objections against it and support for draft-dodgers was much more outspoken, because of the casualties suffered by American troops, and the actual cause and purpose of the war being heavily questioned. Toward the end of the U.S. draft, an attempt was made to make the system somewhat fairer by turning it into a lottery, with each of the year's calendar dates randomly assigned a number. Men born on lower numbered dates were called up for review. For the reasons given above, this did not make the system any fairer, and the entire system ended in 1973. Today, American men 18-25 are required to register with the government, but there has not been a callup since the Vietnam Era. DRAFT RESISTERS See Also: Antimilitarism Historically, there has been resistance to conscription in almost every country and situation where it has been imposed. In the USA and some other countries, the Vietnam War saw new levels of opposition to conscription and the Selective Service System . Many people opposed to and facing conscription chose to either apply for classification and assignment to civilian alternative service or noncombatant service within the military as conscientious objectors, or to evade the draft by fleeing to a neutral country. A small proportion, like Muhammad Ali , chose to resist the draft by publicly and politically fighting conscription. Some people resist at the point of registration for the draft . In the USA since 1980, for example, the draft resistance movement has focused on mandatory draft registration. [http://www.resisters.info/prosecutions.html [http://www.resisters.info/nojoke.html] Others resist at the point of induction, when they are ordered to put on a uniform, when they are ordered to carry or use a weapon, or when they are ordered into combat. There are those who are immune to the draft. These people include anyone who works for the government (Teachers, police officers, lawmakers, etc), People who work for government contractors, and those who work in jobs essential to the operation of the country (waste management, power plants, etc). In the United Kingdom this is known as a Reserved Occupation as it is deemed necessary to the survival of the nation. A government can also grant an exemption from conscription to a group of people based upon religious grounds. One instance is the Amish people in the United States who are immune from any military callup and do not have to register for selective service. DESERTERS Some conscripts who were registered for military service, nevertheless failed to arrive at induction and were listed as Absent Without Leave (AWOL). Others simply deserted while in uniform, or handed their weapons over to the enemy. During the Angolan War , the African National Congress (ANC) called for South African soldiers to desert. COUNTRIES WITH AND WITHOUT MANDATORY MILITARY SERVICE See: Military Service The following table lists information about several example countries. The table columns should be sortable by browsers with Javascript enabled. Notes:
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