A Nordic Model for the UAE?

04/24/18 • 15 min

In this episode, Jon Alterman takes a broader view of conscription with Elisabeth Braw, a NATO expert and nonresident senior fellow at the Atlantic Council. Elisabeth is a former journalist who has observed Nordic armies closely throughout her career. She discusses the evolving approaches towards conscription of some European nations that have maintained a military draft. She also explains key aspects of the Finnish model, which the UAE studied carefully while designing its own program. Though the UAE program differs in critical respects, Elisabeth highlights lessons the Finnish experience may hold for the UAE and others.

Previous Episode

Building a Conscription Society

In this episode, Jon Alterman talks to Dave DesRoches, associate professor and senior military fellow with the Near East South Asia Center for Strategic Studies, National Defense University. Dave, a former Defense Department official responsible for U.S. defense policy in the Gulf and a retired U.S. Army Ranger, lays out the military case for—and against—conscription. Dave also talks about the social and economic implications of building a conscription society. He argues that history shows conscription can either be a force that drives forward national integration or one that sets it back—with much hinging on implementation.

Next Episode

Conscription and the Social Contract in the Gulf

In this episode, Jon Alterman is joined by Dr. Steffen Hertog, an associate professor in comparative politics at the London School of Economics. Steffen discusses the goals and long-term prospects of the UAE’s national service program in the context of shifting relations between Gulf militaries, governments, and societies. He considers how the UAE’s experiment in conscription as a nationbuilding tool could accelerate a broader effort by Gulf leaders to redefine the contract between citizens and the state—and also raises important questions about the challenges such efforts may face.