Germany could be forced to re-install mandatory conscription for its shrinking army

Germany’s governing coalition is gearing up for a clash over whether efforts to expand the country’s armed forces should include a return to compulsory military service.

The conservative Christian Democrats and centre-left Social Democrats (SPD) are at odds within the ruling coalition over the scope of the new Military Service Modernisation Act, which Politico reports is due to be unveiled later this month.

Chancellor Friedrich Merz has so far stayed out of the dispute, though senior Christian Democrats are pressing him to weigh in.

The draft law, spearheaded by Defence Minister Boris Pistorius, seeks to ease the Bundeswehr’s chronic personnel shortage without fully reviving conscription, which was suspended in 2011.

The proposal would require all draft-age men to register and undergo screening, while only a select number would be called up. Women could volunteer.

Sobering statistics

The government’s goal is to recruit around 5,000 additional voluntary soldiers annually, with service lasting up to 23 months. Compulsory service would only be triggered by a separate parliamentary vote.

Currently, around 181,000 soldiers serve in the Bundeswehr, but compared to the government's 2031 target of 203,000, that is far too few for Europe's largest economy, that counts a population of over 83 million. According to the Deutsche Welle, the Bundeswehr leaves no stone unturned in its efforts to attract new personnel: it hangs large advertising posters in German cities and shows the daily life of soldiers on social media channels. This has sparked interest — the number of applicants increased in 2024. But many newcomers drop out. One in four leaves the Bundeswehr again within six months.

One reason for the high dropout rate, according to the Parliamentary Commissioner for the Armed Forces, Eva Högl, is the desire to be stationed close to one’s hometown — something the Bundeswehr cannot always guarantee. But the problems also affect soldiers who have been serving longer: not everyone can be offered an extension of their contract or the desired position as a career soldier, because there are simply not enough posts available.

Although German law still technically requires all male citizens to register for conscription at age 18, a 2011 revision suspended mandatory service during peacetime.

“We’re losing good people that way,” lamented Högl, who has served as Parliamentary Commissioner for the Armed Forces for nearly five years. The Bundeswehr, she said, needs to “step up significantly” when it comes to personnel.

Conservatives push tougher measures

The Christian Democrats argue the law should go further, demanding a mandatory “service year” that includes compulsory military duty as well as civilian options such as work in hospitals or schools, as is the case with German-speaking neighbours Austria and Switzerland.

They also oppose requiring parliamentary approval to activate conscription in a crisis.

“If conscription is only activated in a heightened military crisis, it becomes a reaction tool rather than a deterrent,” conservative foreign and defence lead Norbert Röttgen is quoted. “It would come too late, lose public acceptance and miss its actual purpose. What is a conscript supposed to achieve when the crisis is already here?”

Röttgen accused Pistorius, an SPD member, of “only implementing one side of the compromise by focusing solely on voluntarism” without automatic triggers for conscription if volunteer numbers fall short. “That won’t work — there must be mandatory improvements,” he added.

Other Christian Democrats share his concerns. Parliamentary advisers told Politico they doubt the current draft can muster the support needed to pass.

SPD lawmakers, however, stress that voluntarism is key. Budget MP Andreas Schwarz argued the voluntary model draws more committed recruits who finish training and stay longer.

“We want people who want to be there,” he said. “If you begin with compulsion, you create resistance.” The real challenge, he insisted, is making service “so attractive that we reach our targets without mandatory service.”

By Nazrin Sadigova