The Campaign
To End Conscription
Obligatory military service is one of the greatest threats to the security, liberty, and future of young Europeans. We aim to make an evidence-based case against conscription and save thousands of men from forced military service.
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END CONSCRIPTION!
Most Common arguments for conscription are wrong
Voluntary recruitment will never meet manpower needs.
We cannot afford a professional army
Conscription is merely a hidden tax. As the Nobel-prize winning economist Milton Friedman pointed out:
“On the direct budgetry level, the argument that a volunteer army would cost more simply involves a confusion of apparent with real cost. By this argument, the construction of the Great Pyramid with slave labor was a cheap project. The real cost of conscripting a soldier who would not voluntarily serve on present terms is not his pay and the cost of his keep: it is the amount for which he would be willing to serve. He is paying the difference. This is the extra cost to him and must be added to the cost borne by the rest of us.”
Everyone should share the burden of defense.
Conscription is deeply unequal: it concentrates the burden of national defence on a narrow slice of society, typically young men, who are compelled to make a disproportionate sacrifice for everyone else, often without fair compensation. A more equitable approach is to pay service members properly and fund defence through broad-based taxation, so the costs are shared by society as a whole.
In most conscription systems, half the population is excluded on the basis of gender, and many others are excused through a mix of legitimate and illegitimate exemptions or uneven enforcement. The result is not “shared duty,” but selective coercion, which hits the hardest those who are the most powerless.
Mandatory Military Service will fix the degenerate youth
Conscription has an overwhelmingly damaging effect on the young generation. Economically, it impoverishes teenagers and causes financial struggles, as conscripts are in most countries abused with unlivable wages. In Sweden conscription costs men an average of $55,000 in lifetime earnings. Psychologically, conscription causes a decline in mental health of the teenagers who perform military service. Physically, conscription oftentimes damages the health of conscripts, who learn unheathy eating habits, gain weight, and learn new addictions in military barracks. Societally, conscription makes young men more dependent on their families, and reliant on state support.
Conscription makes us safer.
- Conscript forces are inferior to professional militaries because they’re built on coercion rather than commitment.
- That coercion tends to depress morale and weaken discipline.
- Conscription creates shallow readiness: short service can teach basics, but most skills fade quickly once people return to civilian life.
- Conscription regimes are slow at adapting to modern warfare technology.
- Most reservist do not sustain sufficient fitness.
- Draft dodging and non-compliance become real risks in a crisis, wasting years of investment when it matters most.
End Conscription!
Our Work In The Media
Selected publications from our policy experts and notable campaign mentions.
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Arguments Against Conscription
Explore the most important reasons to oppose conscription
Economic & Military
Social & Philosophical
Explore the most important reasons to oppose conscription
Health
Freedom
Security
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What We do:
Our Battleplan
Halt conscription before it takes root!
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step 1
Conscription Monitoring
We keep a clear-eyed watch on who is bringing the draft back, how it is sold, what is actually being written into law, and the abuses that follow.
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step 2
Research
We stay up to date with new research as it is published, and we are in the midst of creating an exhaustive, searchable database that will make the full body of evidence easy to access.
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step 3
Media Outreach
We share our findings with journalists and the public through op-eds, press briefings, interviews, and clear explainers.
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step 4
Policy Impact
We develop actionable policy proposals and support advocacy efforts with data, legal analysis, and youth mobilisation.
Latest Conscription News
Digest of the most imporant developments around the globe.
What can you do?
Trying to influence unjust public policy can feel overwhelming. Here are concrete steps you can take.
Contact Us
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