Military service is one of the most demanding jobs a European or American can undertake. It involves gruelling physical strain, strict control over personal life in military barracks, isolation from friends and family, insane work hours and often humiliating obedience to the orders of drill sergeants. While one could maybe find an outlier example, such as underwater welding or fishing on the arctic seas that surpass their strain, almost no jobs on the market even come close in their gruelling difficulty to the profession of soldiers.

As South Korea reacts to President Yoon Suk Yeo’s unexpected attempt to impose martial law, Europe should learn lessons from recent Korean missteps in defence policy—not least South Korean military conscription.

“Research clearly shows that compulsory military service promotes nationalism and xenophobia. So one may call for the return of conscription only if one believes that what Poland is sorely lacking today is more nationalism.” Our founder, Ian Golan, argues against the return of conscription in a new piece for Krytyka Polityczna, Poland’s largest left-wing outlet. […]