The effects of economic, military, political, and social factors on the successful implementation of an all-volunteer armed force
By: Volker Gelhausen
Publisher: Naval Postgraduate School; Available from National Technical Information Service
Published: 1998
Place of publication: Monterey, Calif; Springfield, Va
Language: eng
Number of pages: 130
Description: The end of the Cold War and a decline in public and political acceptance for military power has raised the      questions in a number of nations over the continuing need for compulsory military service. This thesis, therefore,      develops a conceptual model that shows the estimated effects of social, economic, political, and military      variables on the successful implementation of an all-voluntary armed force. The research is based mainly on the      experience of all-volunteer recruitment in the United States and Great Britain and recent trends elsewhere,      especially in Western Europe. The main focus in this study is on economic considerations and the question about      the fit between different key components in the military organization, the so-called "Military Design Factors." The      model illustrates the open-system character of the military organization and highlights the close interrelationship      between social, military, economic, and political elements in its environment. This thesis provides a basis for the      design of a quantitative model that could be used to assess whether a specific country with compulsory military      service possesses the conditions for successful conversion to an all-volunteer system.
Notes: "March 1998."

Thesis advisor(s): Mark J. Eitelberg, Gregory G. Hildebrandt.

Thesis (M.S. in Management) Naval Postgraduate School, March 1998.

Includes bibliographical references (p. 123-128)

Approved for public release; distribution unlimited.

Also available online.

Mode of access: World Wide Web.

System requirements: Adobe Acrobat Reader 7.0.

German Navy author.

dk/dk cc:9116 7/23/98.