Cyber conscription is quite a new phenomenon and there is no common definition of the term. Cyber conscripts may carry out a range of functions including technical cybersecurity and cyber defence, as well as IT support, programming and development. They may also serve in more traditional branches such as communications/signals, intelligence, and even social media.
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On 22 September 2019, the Russian newspaper “Moskovskij Komsomolets” (MK) published an unprecedented interview with Sergei Shoigu in what was his first public discussion in the seven years since he became Russia’s Minister of Defence.
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France and conscription have a flawed, nostalgic relationship.
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On 30 January, ICDS held a seminar to present its latest report, “Women in the Estonian Defence Forces: Motivation, Attitudes, Experiences and Challenges”, authored by Andres Siplane and based on a survey conducted among members of the EDF. The report was published in Estonian, English and Russian, with support from the Swedish Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
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“Women officers, NCOs and conscripts should become an ordinary sight, not an extraordinary phenomenon in Estonia. In the present-day high-tech national defence, there is no reason to differentiate between people on the basis of gender and to assume that defence is only men’s work… Among other things, we need to change the attitudes in our society that do not favour the participation of women in the military… It is particularly pleasing that the more active involvement of women is supported by current service personnel.”
Hannes Hanso, Chairman of the National Defence Committee of the Riigikogu, former Minister of Defence
ICDS research fellows Piret Pernik, Henrik Praks and Tomas Jermalavičius contributed to The Rīga Conference Papers 2017. Security in the Baltic Sea Region: Realities and Prospects.
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Two years ago Lithuania made the announcement that mandatory military service for male citizens, suspended in 2008, was to be restored. This marked one of the most dramatic defence policy turn-arounds in recent European history, as it bucked the overall post-Cold War trend towards limiting or abolishing conscription on the continent. Sweden will soon follow suit.
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The modern system of military conscription dates all the way back to the French Revolution in the 1790’s, and it soon thereafter became the means of creating large and powerful armed forces. Most major European states conscripted their male populations at a certain young age, trained them, and then kept them in their reserve force, giving them periodical refresher training exercises to maintain their military readiness.
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