Revolutionary Leaders and the Onset of Conscription

Why do some states enact conscription whereas others do not? Previous scholarship focuses on conscription as a security policy states use to counter threats. Yet, many leaders enact conscription outside periods of war. We focus instead on the benefit of conscription to individual leaders. We posit that revolutionary leaders are more likely to enact conscription than other leaders because they can use the military, in part, to socialize large portions of the population to their vision for the new state. Statistical analysis strongly supports this argument. We compare this direct pathway to an indirect pathway connecting revolutionary leaders to conscription through their heightened propensity for conflict. Mediation analysis reveals that the direct pathway accounts for most of this effect. We illustrate this mechanism through the cases of Nazi Germany and Zimbabwe.