The recent political agreement in Germany to explore mandatory military service has been hailed by NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte, who emphasized the urgency of rapid implementation. In remarks to the Redaktionsnetzwerk Deutschland and El País, Rutte underscored the necessity of bolstering German troop numbers to meet established NATO capability goals, which extend beyond equipment like tanks, fighter jets and drones to include vital personnel.
While affirming that the specific methodology for achieving these numerical targets-whether through conscription or alternative recruitment strategies-remains a matter of German sovereign decision-making, Rutte’s endorsement signals a clear expectation for a substantial increase in the size of the German armed forces. The question of whether this conscription should include women was also addressed cautiously, with Rutte citing Norway’s example, where women already constitute a significant 33% of the military workforce, suggesting a potential trajectory towards gender parity within NATO forces.
However, Rutte’s comments also carried a subtle but critical undertone. He moved beyond a purely strategic justification for military expansion, explicitly appealing to the German public. He argued that the initiative was not merely about increased spending on defense, but about safeguarding “our way of life, our democracy, press freedom and the possibility to live freely and autonomously”. This framing serves to link the military build-up directly to the perceived defense of core democratic values, subtly implying a heightened sense of threat and potentially legitimizing a broader expansion of military spending and influence beyond traditional security concerns. This positioning also implicitly places pressure on the German government to deliver on the promise of increased personnel and to garner public support for a potentially divisive policy shift.
