The Pros And Cons Of Conscription

2272 Words5 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Effects of conscription in world war 1

The WW1 Conscription is one of the significant PR events that occurred in Australia in the 20th century. The Government in essence intended to adopt a conscription policy so as to enhance its fighting capacity. Nevertheless it could not impose this policy unless it received the support of the Nation and therefore it had to persuade its citizen to support it by voting in the referendum. It however faced a very strong opposition with both parties adopting various public relation strategies to influence the public perception towards conscription. The Government lost in both referendums implying that its PR campaigns were not as effective as those of the opposition. The opposition therefore can still rely on the PR strategy it had applied during WW1 conscription to block any attempts by the Government to reintroduce conscription. However, the new campaign should utilize modern media and PR strategies so as to persuade effectively the current sophisticated audience (Sheehan 2007).
Conscription can simply be defined as mandatory military recruitment of people of a certain age group. A brief analysis of the public relation campaign adopted prior and during the WWW 1 will help clarify why conscription is considered to be a public relation event. Grunig and Hunt (1984) cited in Sheehan (2007) argues that the One-Way Communication model that adopted publicity and public information strategy, and the Two-Way Communication model, special emphasis being on Two-Way Asymmetric strategy, were the main model. Each one of these model had a main aim; the main aim of publicity was to spread propaganda; the aim of public information was information dissemination; and lastly the aim of two-way asymmetric strategy was to scientifically persuade the pub...

... middle of paper ...

...owards ensuring the public supported this policy. This it did considering it faced a very strong opposition with the anti-conscription equally engaging in rigorous PR campaign aimed at blocking the government efforts toward introducing mandatory military recruitment. Some of the PR strategies and tactics engaged in by both parties included spreading propagandistic message, scientifically persuading the target audience by applying two-way asymmetric model, and occasionally engaging in information dissemination. The fact that the Government failed in both the referendum implies that the opposition strategy was effective. It should therefore adapt almost a similar approach to block any new effort by the Government to reintroduce conscription. However it should incorporate modern strategies and/or tactics so as to fully reach the now very sophisticated audience.

Show More
Related

  • Protests Against the Vietnam War

    1005 Words  | 3 Pages

    - - -, ed. "The Anti-War Movement in the United States." English.Illnois.edu. Ed. Oxford Companion to American Military History. 1st ed. Vers. 1. Rev. 1. Oxford Companion to American Military History, 1999. Web. 24 Feb. 2014. .

    Read More

  • The Undeclared War With France

    1165 Words  | 3 Pages

    It had seemed that ambiguity was arise in the forming nation, and was still establishing a central ideal for political issues to which it had no precedent. Would the strategy be to declare to the public a message of brutal warfare against a savage nation? Or the protection of the United States and its freedoms by a self-defensive action of declaring war against its former ally? Both would be approached vigorously by Ames to attempt to inform the public and gather a central and nationalized view in order to succeed against these heinous a...

    Read More

  • Against Reinstating the Military Draft

    1512 Words  | 4 Pages

    On July 1, 1973, Congress chose to end the draft in favor of an All Volunteer Army. According to "The Professional Bulletin of Army History, No. 27," the last man was drafted in December 1972 and reported for training in June 1973. Now, not only might the renewed military draft come back but also the age of compulsory service in the meat grinder might be extended from its former limit of 26 years up to 42 years of age.

    Read More

  • Negative Propaganda In World War II

    1674 Words  | 4 Pages

    Words and images were silent weapons used by all governments involved during World War II. Wars are generally fought between soldiers, but the different ideologies often meet on the battlefield as well. The support of the people is crucial during these times since general knowledge of strength relies on numbers. Propaganda targets people’s emotions and feelings and changes people’s perception about a particular idea, people, or situation. Propaganda goes hand in hand with the art of persuasion and convincing; these tools can control and manipulate the collective minds of a massive amount of its audience.

    Read More

  • Analysis of Slaughterhouse-Five Antiwar Sentiments

    776 Words  | 2 Pages

    Barringer, Mark, Tom Wells. “The Anti-War Movement in the United States.” www.english.illinois.edu. Oxford UP. 1999. Web. 14 Nov. 2013.

    Read More

  • Was The Draft Unfair?

    1187 Words  | 3 Pages

    On August 7th 1964 the United States Congress passed into law the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution which, for all intents and purposes, officially brought the United States into the Vietnam War. Following this resolution, a draft was instated to increase the number of men that could be sent to war. Shortly after men started to be signed into conscription for the United States Military, a public outcry started over the use of a draft to increase military size. The draft was found to be unfair to American Citizens because certain groups of men were severely disadvantaged, the draft was illegal in many ways, and veteran’s future lives were harmed, among other reasons.

    Read More

  • Propaganda During World War Two

    1013 Words  | 3 Pages

    Barnett, Correlli. World War II: Persuading the People. Orbis Publishing Limited, 1972. Pgs. 76 -- 102.

    Read More

  • The Permanent Campaign

    1724 Words  | 4 Pages

    'The Permanent Campaign'; was written by Norman J. Ornstein and Amy S. Mitchell. This article appeared first in The World & I, in January 1997.

    Read More

  • Analysis Of Franklin D. Roosevelt's Entering Into War

    1545 Words  | 4 Pages

    Going it to war is one of the hardest decisions a president may have to make but they cannot do it alone. They must have the support of the American people. Entering into war is not one most Americans agree to do without hesitation. War is associated with destruction, violence, and death. With so many opposed what appeals and approaches does a president use to “sell” a war to the American people? To answer this question we will look at 3 documents from Franklin D Roosevelts presented throughout the timeline of the war and how his “sales pitch” changed along the way.

    Read More

  • The Vietnam War Draft

    1650 Words  | 4 Pages

    Many people in the 1960s and early 1970s did not understand why the United States was involved in the Vietnam War. Therefore, they had no desire to be a part of it. The Selective Service System, which was used to conduct the draft, had aspirations of directing people into areas where they were most needed during wartime. However, people took advantage of the draft system’s deferment policies to avoid going to war. Others refused induction or simply did not register. There were also people who left the country to escape the draft. The Vietnam War proved to be an event that many Americans did not agree with, and as a result, citizens took action to elude the draft entirely or to beat the draft system.

    Read More

  • War PropagandaPast, Present and Future

    5195 Words  | 11 Pages

    With regard to war, the purpose of propaganda is to make a particular group of people forget that another group is human. By focusing on a few, simple target ideas that reinforce the notion that another group of people are harmful and inhumane, propaganda is able to unite people in an unrealistic mindset. Understandably, however, governments have a priority to nurture the morale of its people and the armed forces that represent it by intimidating the enemy with the force of natural will. The question of whether or not we choose to accept this harsh reality remains ambiguous, as there will always be two sides to the argument.

    Read More

  • Military Draft No longer Necessary

    1749 Words  | 4 Pages

    Over forty years has passed since the United States inducted the last draftee through the Selective Service System. The Selective Service System is an independent agency of the United States, which gives the President the right or power to conscript men for military service. There have been different Acts passed by congress since 1917 that require men of various ages to register for service. Although, the name of each Act and the age requirements of the registries changed, the Acts were all similar in nature. They all gave the President the right to call men to war when he deemed necessary. In January 1973, Secretary of Defense Melvin Laird announced the creation of the all-volunteer service, retracting the need for the draft (GAO.gov). Under current law, all men between the ages of 18-25 must register within 30 days of their 18th birthday, however this information is used mostly for recruitment purposes and in case of any future crisis. There has been much controversy over this matter since the Vietnam War, when people started to realize the draft was unfair due to loopholes and draft exemptions making the draft unfair for working men. At one point in time the military draft may have been necessary, but today’s all-volunteer military has eliminated the need for a draft.

    Read More

  • Propaganda Effects of World War One

    3318 Words  | 7 Pages

    During the early 1900s a new era of warfare emerged as governments began to employ all economic, technological and psychological resources available to defeat their enemies. This concept of Total War altered the direction of humanity and governments understanding in their allocation of resources. This essay will examine the relationship between propaganda used during World War I, its effect on the masses and the absolutely essential need for the success of such campaigns in obtaining military victory. While leaflet propaganda used during the war will be the main focus, considerations will be given to other forms to illuminate the necessity of understanding and utilizing the tools of this very powerful weapon.

    Read More

  • The Military Draft: An Unwise Solution

    1352 Words  | 3 Pages

    The United States of America's military is currently involved in two major wars with U.S. opposition in Afghanistan and Iraq. All though both of these efforts can be said to be in the clean-up stages, many more soldiers will be needed to stabilize the regions, to provide police work, and to fight the insurgencies that have risen in opposition to the invasion of U.S. troops into foreign lands. The current presidential administration states that to adequately deal with the problems of post-war Iraq and unstable Afghanistan the United States needs to increase the number of active-duty soldiers serving over-seas. Top officials in the administration have said that a reorganization of the military is already in progress, and it will create more combat regiments, but the quoted additional 25,000 new military participants needed per year can hardly be met through these minor reorganizations. In addition, recruiting numbers are at their lowest in over ten years (?All Things Considered?, NPR News Source.) Many feel that the reenactment of the military service draft is inevitable because it is the only way to come up with the astounding number of new troops needed to finish the jobs started in the Middle-East by George W. Bush and his Republican administration. If increasing the size of the military is inevitable, then the draft is the wrong way to go. Aside from the moral objections that many Americans have to a draft, there are major logical fallacies in the reasoning that a draft would benefit the military, America, or its interests abroad; therefore, the draft should not be reenacted to increase the number of the United States? combat troops.

    Read More

  • Persuasive Essay About Military Draft

    1883 Words  | 4 Pages

    The Military draft is the random selection of qualified citizens of the United States, that is put to use when a crisis occurs, like a war. When American citizens reached age 18, they had to sign up for eligibility to be drafted to go to war for their country. Throughout the country’s history, the requirements and limitations of drafting have changed. The draft has been going on since colonial times in America in order to fulfill the country’s military needs when there were not enough volunteer fighters for the military. The total amount of soldiers that one side has fighting for it is an important factor in any type of battle so getting the necessary amount of fighters is crucial. The draft assures everyone that this military need is satisfied at any point in time. Many people feel like the draft is not fair and not “American” and the draft has seen so much conflict since its invention. Throughout the history of the United States, the military draft has been a very important, yet highly controversial topic at the same time.

    Read More

More about The Pros And Cons Of Conscription

Open Document