The Link Between Conscription Experience and Conscripts’ Attitude Toward National Military Service at the End of Training: An Example from Estonia

• Published date: 01 July 2023
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.1177/0095327X221078883
• Author: Merle Parmak,David A. Tyfa
• Date: 01 July 2023
• Subject Matter: Articles

https://doi.org/10.1177/0095327X221078883

Armed Forces & Society

2023, Vol. 49(3) 662 –686

© The Author(s) 2022

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DOI: 10.1177/0095327X221078883

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Article

The Link Between

Conscription Experience

and Conscripts’ Attitude

Toward National Military

Service at the End of Training:

An Example from Estonia

Merle Parmak1 and David A. Tyfa2

Abstract

The purpose of the study is to investigate the relationship between the experience

of conscripts in their training period and their subsequent attitude toward national

military service immediately after training. Self-report questionnaire is used to measure

the experiences of Estonian conscripts (n = 518) in three categories: perceived stress,

applied coping strategies, and evaluation of training as important. Attitude toward national

military service is measured as a critical versus neutral/positive answer to an open-

ended question. We found that a perceived reduction in general quality of life, concerns

about what is happening at home, and experiencing/expressing negative emotions were

associated with a critical attitude. In contrast, taking a proactive outlook toward training

and finding military-specific aspects personally important were associated with a more

neutral/positive attitude. Our findings emphasize the importance of improving the

conscription training experience in order to foster less critical attitudes toward service

and are discussed from a person-environment perspective.

Keywords

conscription, military, conscription experience, person-environment framework,

national military service

1School of Public Management and Humanities, Dalian Maritime University, Dalian, China

2Department of Psychology, School of Human and Health Sciences, University of Huddersfield,

Huddersfield, UK

Corresponding Author:

Merle Parmak, School of Public Management and Humanities, Dalian Maritime University, 1 Linghai

Road, Dalian 116026, China.

Email: parmak@merleparmak.eu

1078883AFSXXX10.1177/0095327X221078883Parmak and Tyfa

research-article2022

Parmak and Tyfa 663

Although conscription (or draft) is relatively widely practiced worldwide (Barany,

2017; Bove & Cavatorta, 2012), the relevance of conscription as a research topic can

easily be dismissed in a world where military service is seen increasingly as a profes-

sional affair. In an age of biotechnological improvement of human capabilities, with

more talk of cognitive warfare, research into conscription may sound somewhat out-

dated. However, there are countries where, for unique historical, social or (geo) polit-

ical reasons, conscription is still practised in some form. A post from the National

Commission on Service in the United States (2018) estimates that about 75 countries

have some form of mandatory service, with some countries planning a reintroduction

(e.g., France and Morocco).1

By definition, conscription can refer to any policy which relies on the threat or use

of force to recruit members into the military (Asal et al., 2017). The backbone of

conscription is a behavioral expectation that, in a future when duty calls, a well-

trained force of reservists will be willingly ready for national defence. While there is

an ongoing discussion about the influence mandatory military service can have on

state military affairs and public support for armed conflicts (Henderson & Seagren,

2014; Horowitz & Levendusky, 2011; Kriner & Shen, 2016; Vasquez, 2005;

Pickering, 2011), little is known about the link between conscription experience and

attitudes at the end of training. However, national defence strategy implies territorial

presence and relies on the assumption that a trained military force will be secured

through mobilization in times of need. There is an expectation that called-up reserv-

ists (i.e., those who have completed conscription training) will form an adequately

trained and motivated defence force when threats emerge. However, the hoped-for

relationship between defence expenditure invested in the training of conscripts and

reservists and the level of national security they eventually deliver may not be practi-

cally realized. The performance of forcibly mobilized reservists may not necessarily

meet expectations (Ben-Ari & Lomsky-Feder, 2011), whether due to non-participa-

tion in training/reserve service, low motivation to learn due to poor attitudes toward

military training, or anti-war and anti-military sentiment.

Studies showing the relevance of conscript and reservist attitudes in mobilization-

based defence are emerging. Among Finnish conscripts’ the relationship between

attitudes toward conscription and the subsequent role of reservists was recently

explored by Kosonen et al. (2019). Interviews were conducted with conscripts who

were either liable for non-military service or with those who had completed con-

scription but subsequently applied for non-military service. Whilst most respondents

expressed a personal readiness to fulfill their national defence responsibilities, the

specific military aspect of service was seen as a problem; interviewees wanted to

perform non-military tasks related to their civilian expertise. Other concerns included

unwanted obligation for conscription and moral dilemmas about killing. The authors

refer to the possibility that people who question the system, their responsibilities or

their role as reservists might be lost for national defence. This suggests that in the

case of forced enlistment, high motivation to serve, as might be expected by authori-

ties, should not be taken for granted among reservists. Also, if conscription or