THE IMPACT OF NEW STRATEGIES AND TECHNOLOGIES ON THE TRANSFORMATION OF CONSCRIPT ARMIES TO PROFESSIONAL ARMIES

Since the time conscription has become the main source of man power for armies, a development in the relation between the state and the individual has occurred. Conscription became an institution for nationalistic re-socialization and a symbol for the equality of citizens. It also played an important role in the expansion of freedoms and universal suffrage. After the World War II, a new trend towards employing voluntary and professional soldiers has started. New technologies and strategies required skilled and trained human resources. The invention of advanced nuclear weapons, incapability of conscripts in performing their duties, new strategies according to which great powers are committed to providing external security for some other countries, all facilitated the replacement of conscripts by professional and voluntary soldiers. Therefore, it is expected that in the next decade, only a few countries will have compulsory military services.