The subject pretty much says it all. I’m interested both in obviously militaristic nations like, say, Iran, and in less likely ones.
Like Switzerland?
link pretty much says it all
Oh, I intended to clarify a little. By “mandatory military service,” I mean laws similar to those found in both France and Germany prior to the First World War. All men of military age were drafted so as to create a large pool of trained men that could be recalled in the event of a war.
Oh. Thanks. :smack:.
Germany has mandatory military service. However in recent years not all males are actually drafted as a result of the reduction of the armed forces after the end of the cold war. There is also a system of alternative “civilian service” for conscientious objectors, and if you object, you will definitely be drafted because those objectors are desperately needed in many institutions.
Among a few other things, this is still part of the idea in Germany. The objectors will be used for various unarmed roles if a full-scale war breaks out.
A German friend of mine didn’t want to do the military thing, so he spent his time working in, i think, a convalescent or nursing home of some sort.
One of my German friends worked in a recreation center for handicapped children.
Haj
Yeah, I was one of those 30 month suckers in Singapore. Gosh darnit. I’m not altogether able-bodied, though, so I was basically a database administrator… Doesn’t mean I don’t know how to shoot an M16 or throw a grenade, though. 
Wasn’t the Singaporean draft system originally based on the Israeli system? I seem to remember stories of Israeli officers flying over in the 60’s or 70’s to help you guys set it up.
Anyway, Israel still has a draft, obviosly. It’s unique in several ways:
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The basic service is very long - 36 months for males, longer for officers and other special positions.
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It’s the only one in the world that regularly drafts women.
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Exemptions are granted for religious reasons (Yeshiva students) ethnic reasons (Muslim or Christian Arabs - but not Beduins), and physical and mental grounds. There are no exemptions gven for conscienscious reasons, but it’s reasonably easy to get out on mental grounds. Basically, whoever really wants to can get out; most choose to serve.
Yeah, it was… the Israellis set up the Singaporean system way back when, training the first batch of recruits, and they had the reputation for being the meanest sumbitches ever to grace the earth. 
Have to say that it seems like the system’s gone a bit soft, though. Can’t be helped, there’s no real threat (well, apart from the whole confrontasi thing back in the 80s) now, and the recruits just look at it as if it were a complete waste of time. My SO and I are the same age, but she’s already working, and I’m still a lousy student - hasn’t brought many problems so far, but it’s annoying nonetheless. I guess Israel doesn’t really have that problem. No problem with finding a “real threat” to be traning for, too…
Being a conscientious objector too (in France), I used to work in a half-public organization providing various services for various social institutions (mostly institutions in charge of handicapped children).
The catch was that the mandatory service as a conscientious objector was 2 years long (instead of only one year in the military).
The last conscripts in france left thearmy one year ago or so (the mandatory military service has been abolished several years ago, but some had delayed their service for various reasons).
As paradoxal as it might seem, despite being a conscientious objector, I wasn’t enthralled by the mandatory service being abolished. I’m of a shared mind about a fully professional army. There’s something about a people’s army that sounds more right in a democracy.
(And history proved at least once that my feeling isn’t completely off-base. At the end of the Algeria war, some general opposed to the independance of Algeria tried to organize a coup. Most of the conscripts refused to follow them (while a large of the professionnal soldiers did) , and their coup attempt failed.)
There’s something weird about being a conscientious objector for someon from my generation. Essentially all french males share a common memory of “juteux”(the hated french equivalent of a drill sergeant) , of digging holes in the snow, of getting bored in the barracks in Germany, and so on…
That’s a collective memory that I don’t share (though now it is going to dissapear, anyway…)
Similar situations occured in 1991 in the Soviet Union and in Spain after Franco’s death.
I would add that in the french sysem, the former conscripts could be called back for short periods at any time during the following years (I’m not sure until what age, but it could last for many years).
Most were never called back, but being called back once was generally bad news. It meant that you’d be likely to be called back again and again. mostly, it was people who had been taught some specific competence, had been promoted as reserve NCOs, or trained as reserve commissioned oficers.
(One of my friends, who served in the signals, was called back all the time, until his actions (a trap he had set up) resulted in a chopper (with a general in it) being seriously damaged at landing. He had some s’plaigning to do and was never called back again.)
By the way, contrarily to the mention in the wikipedia cite, I heard of at least one case of a conscript who was sent in a war zone without volunteering (during the Chad war, and because he had previously served in the algerian army during desert operations for a couple years). Also, some conscripts were affected to units that were expected to be sent overseas or in war zones (alpine troops, paratroopers, for instance), though I think you had to ask for it in order to be enlisted in such an unit.
Finally, people serving in the navy could de facto be sent overseas (of course) or in war zones. It’s not like they were going to get rid of 1/3 of the ship mates before sending a ship somewhere. So, the cite, though on the overall true, isn’t perfectly accurate.
So, maybe a conscription army isn’t that bad an idea, all things considered…
Out of curiosity, what happens in German if a man refuses to serve in the military or perform alternative service? Do they get sent to prison?
In principle yes, but usually they get off with probation. The details also depends on which of the two you dodge. If you get recognized as a conscientious objector first, they will “just” sue you. If you don’t, Military Police will get you and you will be put under arrest for a while and then they will sue you.
In Switzerland they do the one thing that all good Swiss fear the most: charge extra tax! Apparently this also applies to men of a certain age (18-40?) that cannot fulfill their military obligations.
Above is from a Swiss Embassy site.