'Fully committed to peace': Is it time to bring back conscription in Germany?

At the beginning of March, Germany's Christian Democratic Union (CDU) and Christian Social Union (CSU) defence policy spokesman Florian Hahn called for the reintroduction of compulsory military service before the end of the year.

"We can’t just sit back and watch as the world around us becomes more insecure," he told German tabloid Bild.

With the German parliament approving a historic debt-financed bill for defence and infrastructure, attention is now turning to conscription. But what would reinstating it look like – and would it really solve Germany's defence challenges?

Conscription was introduced in 1956 and remains enshrined in Article 12a of Germany's Basic Law.

Even after the Cold War ended and the country was reunified, conscription was not abolished. However, since its inception, individuals have been able to refuse military service on grounds of conscience.

Applicants had to seek approval for conscientious objection in such cases and could then perform alternative service for the common good, known as civilian service.

All men aged 18 and over were required to serve in the Bundeswehr until 2011, when former defence minister Karl-Theodor zu Guttenberg suspended mandatory service.

Compulsory military service was suspended to reduce the size of the Bundeswehr from around 255,000 soldiers to 185,000. The reasoning at the time pointed to the significantly changed global security landscape, which did not pose a major risk.

According to the latest Bundeswehr data from May 2024, the total strength stands at just under 261,000 people. This includes 180,215 military personnel and 80,761 civilian employees.

However, the goal is to increase troop numbers to around 203,000 soldiers by 2031. This planned increase is driven by