[War & Business] Princess of Spain's Military Service Boosts Momentum for Female Conscription

Princess Leonor, the first in line to the Spanish throne, is set to begin her three-year military service starting next month, making headlines across Europe. Although this follows the royal tradition of leading national defense, it is by no means an easy task for the young princess, who is only seventeen, to undergo training in all three branches of the military: army, navy, and air force, for three years.

However, recently, princesses across European royal families have been enlisting in the military without exception. Previously, in August 2020, photos were released showing Princess Elisabeth of Belgium undergoing rigorous military training. As the first in line to the throne, she too enlisted because, upon ascending to the throne, she would become the supreme commander of the armed forces and was willing to undergo any training.

From the perspective of European royal families, the enlistment of princesses plays a significant role in countering public calls to abolish monarchies, which consume enormous budgets amid worsening economic conditions. Emphasizing the ‘equality’ that there are no sanctuaries in national defense, the princesses’ military service serves as a powerful event to promote national unity and enhance the authority of the king as the supreme commander of the military.

On the 7th (local time), Princess Leonor, the heir to the Spanish throne, visited the Military Academy in Zaragoza, Spain. She will enlist next month and undergo training in the Army, Navy, and Air Force for the next three years. Zaragoza=EPA·Yonhap News

Separately, from the standpoint of various governments, this trend provides a starting point to more easily initiate social discussions about female conscription, which has gained attention since the Ukraine war. Regarding Princess Leonor’s enlistment in March, Margarita Robles, Spain’s Minister of Defense, stated, “When the time comes, the supreme commander of the military will be a woman,” and added, “In recent years, we have made very important efforts to integrate women into the military,” suggesting the need for future discussions on female military service or female conscription.

Discussions on female conscription have been active in Europe since around 2014, when Russia forcibly annexed Ukraine’s Crimean Peninsula. Following Norway’s sudden introduction of female conscription in 2013, Sweden implemented it from January 2018, and the Netherlands followed suit from October 2018.

Initially, social discussions about female conscription in these countries began with the goal of completely eliminating gender discrimination, but the situation has now completely changed. This is because they are now facing a new security environment marked by Russia’s threat of invasion into Europe. The ‘Red Scare’ against the Soviet Union during the Cold War, which had been forgotten for 30 years since the collapse of the USSR in 1991, has been revived, making female conscription no longer optional but essential.

The reason European countries are particularly rushing to introduce female conscription lies in the prolonged issues of low birth rates and aging populations, leading to a shortage of human resources. In a situation where there is a lack of both rear support personnel and frontline combat troops, it is necessary for all citizens to participate in national defense.

Especially, the ongoing Ukraine war, now in its second year and resembling a war of attrition like World War I, has provided a significant lesson to European countries that had abolished conscription after the end of the Cold War. It shows that conventional wars can still break out in the 21st century and that enormous manpower and resources are consumed.

Ultimately, the reality that even princesses who seem to belong in Disney cartoons must roll around in training grounds symbolically demonstrates that the global security situation is far from easy. South Korea, where the security situation is much more complex and the birth rate is among the lowest in the world, must also hasten social discussions on female conscription.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.