That We Should Have Compulsory Military Service

That we should have compulsory military service.

C grade – Round One

This topic calls on several important themes common throughout debating. To cover this topic, you will need to consider the following questions:

·How important is individual freedom?

·Does a state have the right to demand that people sacrifice their lives in its defence?

·What duties do citizens owe their countries?

·What should Australia’s military be like?

·What are the risks and benefits to individuals exposed to military service, and are these acceptable?

Remember that this does not need to be universal service – this allows for the affirmative team to create a realistic model that places limitations on who would be captured by the topic. Military service need not include active front-line engagements, but could also cover Reserve Corps, support roles as well as combat training and actual warfare. It is usually targeted at young men, but could be much wider ranging.

This topic has some currency as Australia has taken past in several large scale military interventions overseas in the past two decades. There have also been reports of plans to unilaterally attack ISIS. Given its land mass, Australia has a relatively small standing army, although by global standards it is well equipped and financed.

There are plenty of international parallels to consider. Singapore and Switzerland have both had some very different programs of compulsory military service. Australia has also used military conscription in the past, and so there are international and domestic precedents that may prove informative.

Some arguments for the Affirmative side:

·Australia needs a larger military, and current advertising campaigns are not providing it

·Citizens have a duty to fight for their country if they expect that country to protect them

·The state has a right to make demands of its citizens

·The individuals benefit from learning discipline and self-control in a military environment

·This could diversify the military, helping to change some of its problematic cultures
Some arguments for the Negative side:

·This undermines the very freedoms that Australia stands for

·Australia should rely on diplomacy and its military partners to keep itself safe

·The state does not have a right to endanger the lives of those it exists to protect

·The military has long-standing cultural and behavioural problems, and we should not expose people to these if they do not volunteer (especially women and LGBT individuals)

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