Europe turns to conscription as threat of wider war with Russia grows

Before Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine, many, including Kyiv, were skeptical that a major war could return to Europe. More than two years on, another shift once unthinkable is underway on conscription.

Several European nations have reintroduced or expanded compulsory military service amid Moscow’s mounting threat, part of a range of policies aimed at boosting defenses that are likely to be scaled up even further.

“We are coming to the realization that we may have to adjust the way we mobilize for war and adjust the way we produce military equipment and we recruit and train personnel,” said Robert Hamilton, head of Eurasia research at the Foreign Policy Research Institute, who served as a US Army officer for 30 years.

“It is tragically true that here we are, in 2024, and we are grappling with the questions of how to mobilize millions of people to be thrown into a meatgrinder of a war potentially, but this is where Russia has put us,” he said.

The risks for a larger war in Europe have been rising after Russian President Vladimir Putin “finally resorted to open conflict” in Ukraine, pursuing his aim to “recreate the Soviet empire,” said Gen. Wesley Clark (Ret.), who served as NATO’s Supreme Allied Commander Europe.

“So we’ve now got a war in Europe that we never thought we would see again,” said Clark, who led NATO forces during the Kosovo War. “Whether this is a new Cold War or an emerging hot war is unclear,” he continued, but “it’s a very imminent warning to NATO that we’ve got to rebuild our defenses.”

Those efforts include conscription, he says.

Return of conscription underscores new reality

A number of European countries halted mandatory conscription after the end of the Cold War, but several nations – particularly in Scandinavia and the Baltics – have reintroduced it in recent years, largely because of the Russian threat. Failure to enlist can result in fines or even jail time in some countries.

Latvia is the latest to implement conscription. Compulsory military service  was reintroduced on January 1 this year, after being abolished in 2006. Male citizens will be put up for the draft within 12 months of reaching the age of 18, or graduation for those still in the education system.

“At first there was a lot of pushback,” said Arturs Pīlācis, a 20-year-old student. He’s yet to go up for the draft but voluntarily went on a month-long military course.

But ultimately, “the need for a state defence service was clear,” he said. “There wasn’t really an option where we can stand by and think things will go on as they were before because of the unprovoked aggression in Ukraine.”

Latvian army servicemen with a M109A5 howitzer attend a military parade to celebrate the anniversary of the independence declaration in Riga, Latvia on November 18, 2022.

Ints Kalnins/Reuters

In April, Norway presented an ambitious long-term plan that will nearly double the country’s defense budget and add more than 20,000 conscripted soldiers, employees, and reservists to the armed forces.

“We need a defense that is fit for purpose in the emerging security environment,” Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre said.

Conscription in Norway is mandatory and in 2015 it became the first member of the NATO defensive alliance to conscript both men and women on equal terms.

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