Conscription

Membership of NATO and the development of an independent nuclear deterrent enabled Britain to lead the way in ending conscription after the war. In April 1957 the Minister of Labour announced his intention to discontinue national service in 1960. The last British national servicemen were called up in November 1960 and discharged in May 1963.

Conscription has been abandoned in Australia and New Zealand. In the United States, it is popularly called “the draft” and, by legislative enactment, selective service.

Peacetime conscription was inaugurated in the United States in September 1940, and new selective service legislation broadened its provisions on December 13, 1941, six days after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. Conscription ceased in 1947, but selective service was extended in the 1950s because of the Korean War. The draft laws continued in existence, with frequent amendment, and provided manpower for the Vietnam War. In 1969 a lottery system for choosing draftees was introduced. In 1973 membership in the US armed forces was put on an all-volunteer basis; since 1980, men have had to register with the selective service system within 30 days of their 18th birthday. Some opposition to registration exists, although present practice does not call for a resumption of compulsory military service.

Since the end of the Cold War the Western allies in NATO have continued to move towards abolishing conscription and maintaining small, highly trained professional armed forces. In areas where there is high tension and a likelihood of conflict, such as the Middle East, and notably Israel, conscription is still used to produce sufficient troops to ensure national security.

In the former Soviet Union conscription was a vital component of the Communist system and has since grown in unpopularity in Russia, with many potential conscripts refusing service. They register at 17 and are called up at 18 to serve for 18 months in the army or 24 months in the navy or air force. Many of the former Eastern bloc states and Soviet republics are now members of NATO, and as their armed forces become completely depoliticized, it seems likely that they too will be able to move towards ending conscription.