Gender Issues in the Transformation to an All-Volunteer Force: A Transnational Perspective

This chapter analyzes the implications of a transition in a democracy from a conscription-based military to an all-volunteer force for women's military participation, including roles open to women and the proportion they constitute of the armed forces. This chapter first describes issues affecting current militaries, such as the decline of the mass army, the "revolution in military affairs," and the decline in conscription. It will then present a model of the factors that affect the participation of women in armed forces, including aspects of the armed forces, the civilian social structure and culture, and political variables. This model will then be applied to nine nations, two that abolished conscription prior to the 1970s (Canada and the United Kingdom), five that ended conscription in the 1970s or the 1990s (New Zealand, Australia, United States, Belgium, and France), and two that either ended it within the last five years (Italy), or still have conscription (Germany).

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