Following the Russian invasion of Ukraine and increasingly complex global relations, many countries are concerned about their security and are raising the question of military service. This issue is also being discussed in Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH).
Currently, military service is mandatory in only 13 countries in Europe – Belarus, Estonia, Lithuania, Finland, Sweden, Norway, Denmark, Ukraine, Cyprus, Switzerland, Greece, Austria, and Turkey. Others are more or less intensively debating this issue. The Ministry of Defense of BiH says there are currently no conditions for it.
Survey: 90 Percent ‘in favor’ of introducing military service
A study by the Center for Security Studies in Sarajevo showed that 90 percent of respondents support the introduction of mandatory military service. As many as 45 percent of those surveyed believe that “military service is an excellent tool for acquiring discipline and work habits, and 26 percent believe that a young person should be ready in case of conflict.”
Only 10 percent of respondents are against the introduction of mandatory military service, 27 percent of them believe it should be a voluntary choice, and 24 percent think that young people should have education, employment, and a stimulating salary instead of weaponry.
“BiH is not capable of conducting even a regular census”
However, while the Center for Security Studies emphasizes the high percentage of those who support mandatory military service, young people have arguments against it.
Political scientist Martin Mikulic places the introduction of mandatory military service in the context of overall political and social events in BiH, which is why he does not see it as a realistic option.
“BiH is not capable of conducting a regular and credible census, let alone achieving political consensus to allocate significant funds and build the necessary infrastructure to maintain quality military service,” he assesses.
23-year-old Eman Pajic, a Master of Laws, speaks similarly. He claims that the implementation of traditional military service is systematically unfeasible in BiH, and would lead to nationalist tensions and political turmoil, which are “abundant” in BiH anyway.
“In BiH, we don’t have a systematic solution. Young people are tired of talk about wars and generally wouldn’t accept it,” he says.
There are no conditions for military service in BiH
However, the Ministry of Defense of BiH, led by Minister Zukan Helez, has confirmed that there are currently no plans to introduce mandatory military service. They refer to the Defense Law, which abolished military service in BiH as of January 1st, 2006.
“The abolition of military service was part of the defense system reform in our country, part of the effective process of creating a unified Ministry of Defense of BiH and unified, modern, and operational Armed Forces of BiH (AFBiH),” the Ministry stated.
“The Ministry of Defense of BiH believes that the necessary conditions have not been met to elaborate on this topic,” they concluded, putting an end to this topic, N1 reports.
