Alc Pan-african Radio

Transcript: Are there merits to military conscription? In this programme, I will discuss diverse views of surrounding military conscription. Scholars have, in the past, linked military conscription and nation-building. They argue that conscription can either shore up or undermine the national construct. Military conscription is a policy, which relies on coercion to compulsorily recruit members into the military. Modernization theorists have hailed military conscription as a modern model of organization that is dedicated to nation building especially in newly formed states. In addition, proponents of military conscription argue that, military conscription is an essential tool for building a sense of nationalism and a strong feeling of citizenship particularly in young conscripts. It is considered as a unifying process and a critical instrument for national unity and social integration. In this regard, Amita Etzion, a prominent social anthropologist scholar, views military conscription as, and I quote, a