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Die politische Theorie der (deutschen) Dienstpflicht: Begründungen, Einwände und institutionelles Design - Politische Vierteljahresschrift
In recent years, there has been increasing debate in Germany about the introduction of a mandatory national service, and political theory has likewise shown a growing interest in such an institution. Yet while public commentaries lack a systematic and theoretically reflective engagement with the central arguments, research in political theory tends to overlook the military dimension and questions of institutional design. This article addresses these desiderata through a systematic, comparative analysis and weighting of relevant justifications and objections. It argues that the core normative issue is the appropriate relationship between individual negative liberty and competing values—security, civic equality, fairness, trust, and solidarity—as well as the proper balance between market mechanisms and state regulation. In addition, it demonstrates how particular justifications of mandatory national service require specific configurations of institutional design, the non-implementation of which may undermine the normative force of the respective justification.
