Public Support for the Armed Forces: The Role of Conscription

Abstract

How does conscription influence citizens’ support for the armed forces? We argue that conscription, more so than voluntary-recruitment systems, can reach out to and socialize larger segments of the society in line with the military’s values. This, in turn, induces more positive views of the armed forces. Using a unique data set comprising information for 34 European states in 1997–2017, we find robust evidence that countries with conscription-based recruitment tend to be characterized by higher levels of support for the military. This result greatly adds to the debate about the type of military-recruitment system countries should implement: abolishing compulsory military service is usually seen as increasing efficiency and performance; yet, a positive – and previously unknown – externality of conscription that we identify is a higher degree of support by the public, which is pivotal for, inter alia, defense-policy implementation, military interventions abroad, budget considerations, or the participation in military alliances.
KEYWORDS:

• Conscription
• socialization
• military support
• public opinion

Description