Revisiting Military as a Total Institution: The Case of Conscript Service in Estonia

Abstract

This article revisits the concept of the military as a total institution through the lens of conscript service in Estonia. Employing a longitudinal qualitative methodology, it captures the dynamic experiences of conscripts. The findings reveal that tensions arise as conscripts face the totality of their service, leading to short-term situational negotiations and long-term goal adaptations. The study underscores the significant role of transitions between military and civilian life, with these movements serving as key moments of reflection and reshaping conscripts’ perspectives on their service. The findings show that the military has begun paying more attention to individual life courses and aligning its practices with civilian workplaces. While these adaptations align with societal expectations and aim to maintain the institutional legitimacy, they also contribute to the normalization of the military organization, potentially eroding the appeal of conscript service.

Keywords

total institution conscription military organization military culture

In 1957, sociologist Erving Goffman introduced the concept of total institutions, which offers an opportunity to analyze a range of institutions that are characterized by a group of people living together over a long period of time who are largely isolated from the outside world, following the formal rules established by the institution, and where all aspects of life (e.g., work, rest, sleep) are closely intertwined in a single location. Goffman’s key examples of total institutions were prisons and mental hospitals, as well as conscripted armed forces.

Since Goffman proposed this framework, the majority of countries have shifted away from conscripted armed forces toward professional military forces. Among the nations still practicing conscription, there is considerable variation in how and whom they recruit, as well as in whether the service is universal or selective. However, in Western countries that adhere to democratic principles, conscription has become increasingly individual-centered, considering conscripts’ motivations during recruitment and tailoring service according to individual skillsets (Jonsson et al., 2024; Strand, 2021, 2024). Conscript service is being challenged with the question of personal gains and choices as individualization and globalization weaken the normative commitment to conscription (Adres et al., 2012; Kosonen et al., 2019). It has indeed been brought out that while conscription can lead to the militarization of society by providing generalized military education to a large portion of the population, societal norms also influence the military, leading to the civilianization of the military (Hippler, 2007).

Considering these changes, this study aims to examine how macro-level societal transformations (the aforementioned socialization of the military) are reflected in the daily lives of conscripts and how the traditional tool of conscription is being adapted to meet the needs of today’s militaries and the expectations of today’s conscription-aged population. To study these questions, we draw upon the concept of conscripted armed forces as total institutions (Goffman, 1957) and are particularly interested in examining the different ways conscripts respond to and perceive conscription as a total institution.

This study makes three interrelated contributions. First, the study focuses on the experiences of conscripts, who, in Goffman’s terms, represent the “inmates” (as opposed to professional military members as “staff”) of the total institution structure (Goffman 1961/2022: 6–7). Analyzing the conscript’s point of view allows us to understand how elements of the total institution are reflected in their experiences and how they “negotiate” and “manage” the totality of the institution, perhaps thereby altering it. This leads to the second contribution, which is highlighting the processual and dynamic nature of conscription. The study contributes to the broader discussions on the transformation of armed forces toward a more negotiatory character, which various scholars have described as post-Fordism (King, 2006), “contractual militarism” (Levy et al., 2007), or the “market army” (Levy, 2010). While these studies focus on military professionals, the current study expands our understanding of how these trends are reflected in conscription. Third, in this study, the data are collected over an extended period, beginning before youths enter conscription, following them through different phases of service and reflecting on their post-service experiences. This longitudinal qualitative research approach provides a nuanced understanding of how conscripts relate to and reinterpret conscription and how their cumulative experiences reshape it (Hollstein, 2021).

The study draws on the case study of Estonia. Due to its location on NATO’s (North Atlantic Treaty Organization) Eastern flank, next to an aggressor state, and its small size and population (1.3 million), Estonia has built its state defense principles around mandatory conscript service, which provides a pool for both regulars and reserves. Both the Estonian Defence Forces (EDF) and conscription enjoy high societal support, with the defense forces being one of the most trusted institutions in Estonia (80% trust EDF) and the majority considering conscript service necessary (87%) (Eesti Uuringukeskus, 2024). However, Estonia has undergone a rapid post-socialist transition along neoliberal lines since regaining independence in the 1990s (Mikecz, 2023). It is characterized by a strong emphasis on the importance of the freedom to make one’s own decisions (Lilleoja & Raudsepp, 2016). The advent of neoliberal values in the country has also affected the military, which, through its communication to civil society, signals its transparency, accountability, efficiency, and effectiveness while also acknowledging the emerging expectations that military service should benefit individuals (Kasearu et al., 2022). Given this context, Estonia serves as a fruitful case for studying the conscripted armed forces as a total institution in contemporary Western-values-oriented society.

The study is also topical as, following the start of the Ukrainian war in 2022, the European security situation has changed, and heightened threat perceptions have made many European countries discuss reinstating conscription or have even already reinstated it (e.g., Latvia). Therefore, the findings from Estonia can offer insights into today’s youth expectations of service and their readiness to contribute to state defense in other European countries that either follow the conscription model or are considering returning to it.

The article begins by looking into the concept of a total institution from the perspective of conscript service and how different aspects might shape its totality. It then briefly introduces the Estonian conscription system to provide context for the study. Subsequently, it shifts to the methodology of the current study, followed by the joint findings and discussion section structured around four themes that emerged from the analysis detailing conscripts’ experiences. Finally, it concludes with broader reflections.

Theoretical Framework

Over time, different scholars have brought out that, while the total institution concept relates to an ideal type, in reality, there exists a wide variation in and about total institutions. For instance, Rachel Ellis (2021) suggested that, instead of total institutions, the concept of porous institutions would describe prisons as total institutions in a better way, emphasizing that people in closed institutions are still linked to the outside world and affected by it. Davies (1989) has suggested “to create an intermediate category between the ‘open’ and ‘closed’ institutions” and adds the armed forces into that “intermediate” category of total institutions as “the armed forces are not in any sense totally closed hierarchies” (p. 86).

However, the totality of the armed forces is further challenged as militaries, like other organizations, face constant pressures for change. Alongside structural and functional drivers for change, normative drivers, originating from societal, state, and inter-state levels, emphasize the need for militaries to adopt and implement broader societal norms (such as individualization) to maintain their legitimacy and attractiveness as employers (Holmberg & Alvinius, 2019). The post-Cold War shift toward volunteer forces has been characterized by increased permeability of barriers between the military and civil society and a reduction in the stratification between soldiers and officers, leading to contemporary defense organizations being more influenced by general public trends (Moskos et al., 2000; Norheim-Martinsen, 2016). The need to keep pace with changes in modern societies has led the armed forces in contemporary societies also to make their conscription systems more flexible and individualized.

These changes in the armed forces we are seeing now have eroded the line between “open” and “closed” even further, possibly affecting the sentiment of how total conscription is perceived to be. On the contrary, militaries are highly structured and organized institutions with clearly defined roles, in contrast to the freedoms granted by contemporary societies, which potentially intensifies the perceived level of totality. The following sections turn closer attention to these two aspects—individualized conscript service and structural barriers of the military—and their possible impact on the totality of conscription to provide a framework for the empirical analysis.

Individualized Conscript Service

Contemporary conscription recruitment models tend to combine mandatory military service and all-volunteer force characteristics, giving more attention to conscript motivation and increasing possibilities for exercising their agency (Jonsson et al., 2024). This has led to hybrid “volunteerized” conscription models (Ben-Ari et al., 2023). For instance, some Nordic countries like Sweden and Norway have adopted the approach of “selective conscription,” which takes in only a marginal part of the birth cohort and counts motivation to serve as an essential part of recruitment (Ahlbäck et al., 2022). The emphasis on the voluntary entrance to the defense forces and conscripts’ motivation to serve is to be found in other countries with different recruitment systems as well. For instance, Israel, where most of the birth cohort is expected to go through conscript service, offers the possibility of volunteering for a specific career path (Ben-Ari et al., 2023). Estonia, which is used as a case study in the current research, offers the chance to apply for service (volunteer) before being drafted and, through that, choose (to an extent) the place and period of service (Raid et al., 2019).

Allowing conscripts to exercise more agency benefits the military as the perception of life events, such as conscription, is argued to be influenced by one’s active involvement in one’s life, that is, agency (Wilmoth & London, 2013). Positive experiences during conscription also reinforce military readiness when conscripts transition to reservists after their training (Laanepere & Kasearu, 2021). Therefore, increased possibilities for exercising agency could lead to stronger pro-military attitudes. However, constant negotiations with individuals that potentially alter the nature of conscript service may challenge the military’s self-image and character as a total institution, leading to uncertainty and conflict within the organization (Holmberg & Alvinius, 2019). Therefore, while reducing the totality of conscript service may positively influence how conscription is perceived and enhance how former conscripts contribute to state defense later in life, it poses significant challenges for the organization.

The increased practice of incorporating volunteering elements into the drafting process may also have implications for one of the central characteristics of the total institution: the shaping and reshaping of the self. Namely, Goffman (1961/2022) differentiates between total institutions not only based on their function but also on what sentiment and how voluntarily the recruits enter there (pp. 104–105). While on the one hand, we have prisons where entrance is involuntary, and, on the other hand, we have religious institutions that take only motivated volunteers into their institution, Goffman (1961/2022) considers conscription to lie between the two extremes, involuntary and voluntary entrance, where conscripts are “required to serve but are given much opportunity to feel that this service is a justifiable one” (pp. 104–105). In Goffman’s (1957) sense, the “mortification of the self” through “stripping processes” includes substituting personal possessions and communication with standardized institutional matters (p. 50). Adaptation to the total institution and accepting the stripping processes are evidently more challenging for those who enter the institution involuntarily, as those who enter the institution voluntarily have already partially started disaffiliating themselves from their former lives and selves (Goffman, 1961/2022: 14). While in the classic sense of conscription, conscripts enter service by compulsory draft, and therefore, the reshaping of the self could be expected to be quite challenging; one could assume that new ways of entering service might change the perception of losing oneself and, therefore, decrease the perceived totality of conscription.

This notion could be supported by Susie Scott’s (2011) work on developing further the concept of the total institution, suggesting a concept of a reinventive institution based on voluntary membership where its members embrace the possibility of disentangling themselves from their old selves (p. 30). It is rather unsurprising that all-volunteer forces have also been claimed to be reinventive institutions as individuals join the military voluntarily and enlist to reinvent themselves (Kaspersen, 2023). The emphasis on the possibility of reinventing oneself is also an approach used by all-volunteer forces in their recruitment campaigns, with the most well-known example being the iconic U.S. Army campaign, “Be All You Can Be.”

However, conscription has also been found to increase self-confidence and self-efficiency and provide youth with a space for self-development (Dar & Kimhi, 2001). Overall, total institutions can provide courage and offer the possibility to leave the encapsulating family circle for the first time and meet new people (Davies, 1989). Therefore, conscript service could also have reinventive characteristics, thus softening the “mortification of the self.”

Structural Barriers of the Military Way of Life

According to Goffman (1957), total institutions are characterized by separation from civilian life, strict hierarchies, and discipline. Turning first to the separation from civilian life, although the conscription models have changed, conscripts still perceive this as a significant disruption to their personal development and identity as they temporarily put their civilian lives on hold to serve in the military (Truusa & Talves, 2018). “Volunteering” for mandatory service is indeed an oxymoron in itself. As the study by Raid et al. (2019) showed, it is not purely an indicator of motivation; for some, it is instead an indicator of individual agency. Therefore, time spent in service becomes a barrier and an element of totality itself.

Time is closely interlinked with the spatial barriers that the military poses to its members. The military setting requires that all conscripts live and train collectively in the barracks, being isolated from the general population. This also means increasing social control over conscripts. As the different life spheres are segregated in the military and all the activities individuals carry out are under constant supervision, misconduct in one sphere can spill over to another (Goffman, 1961, pp. 39–41). For instance, conflicts with other conscripts in their leisure time can be brought up by commanders during training as a problem of overall morale. Thus, collective living and the segregation of physical environments can also raise the tension of the total institution.

Another dimension of the totality of the military is the specific institutional capital acquired through the socialization process of the military. This capital consists of professional training, social ties, and social codes, which become part of or even replace individuals’ previous social and cultural capital and can toughen the transition back to civilian life (Swed, 2014; Swed & Butler, 2015). For instance, this struggle has been found to be the case for veterans in military-to-civilian transition (Bulmer & Eichler, 2017; Kachtan & Binks, 2021). Therefore, military-specific capital is, in a way, another barrier to transitioning between the military and civil spheres, increasing the sense of the military’s totality. Taken together, time, space, and institutional capital form central mechanisms that contribute to the separation from civilian life.

Hierarchy and discipline, which are yet other characteristics of total institutions, are in the military setting closely intertwined with two notions: the chain of command characterizing all militaries and the way control is exerted over conscripts. The split between the “large managed group, conveniently called inmates, and a small supervisory staff,” whereas “social distance is typically great and often formally prescribed” is an inherent characteristic of total institutions (Goffman 1961/2022, pp. 6–7). The dynamics of power relations in the military are intensified by the chain of command, where the “staff” also obey the higher commanders. However, interaction between commanders and conscripts is not just about enforcing orders but also about reinforcing the institutional culture that values discipline and compliance. Conscripts in the armed forces are controlled by coercive compliance rather than the remunerative compliance that is inherent to all-volunteer forces (Davies; 1989), adding to the total nature of conscription (p. 90).

The Case of Estonia

In this article, we will use Estonia as a case study, as case studies are well-suited for research that asks “how” and “why” questions on a social phenomenon, such as the current one, and enable us to understand the interaction between a specific context and phenomena, thereby advancing a field’s knowledge base (Yin, 2009). To contextualize our study, this section will introduce the conscription system and its context in Estonia.

Estonia’s national defense strategy is founded on the principles of comprehensive defense and a conscription-based reserve army. Conscript service lasts 8 or 11 months, depending on the training unit and the specialty to be acquired. Most conscripts serve in the land forces but are also assigned to the navy, logistics, military police, and cybersecurity units. Since the Estonian air force is a small unit relying on NATO allies, there are no conscripts serving in the air force. Conscription mandates service for all healthy Estonian male citizens aged 17 to 27 years, while it remains voluntary for women. Approximately 3,500 conscripts begin their service every year, about 1% of whom are female. Based on the 10-year average male birth cohorts, 52% of the cohorts are conscripted, with the main reason for exemptions being failure to meet medical criteria (Kaitseministeerium, 2024).

Previous analyses have shown that Estonia is currently utilizing its full potential to recruit young men, given the decline in birth cohorts and present health standards (Lillemäe et al., 2023a). However, some young men also deliberately evade conscription. While the majority of the population believes conscript service is necessary for young men, public opinion polls show that only 55% of the general population and 31% of youth aged 20 to 29 years disapprove of conscription evasion, and this proportion has slightly increased in recent years (Eesti Uuringukeskus, 2024). Although conscription-based armed forces generally face fewer challenges in recruiting regulars, as conscripted soldiers form a natural pool for transitioning into professional military service (Szvircsev Tresch, 2008), these figures indicate that evasion of service is somewhat socially tolerated. As a result, armed forces must invest significant effort in maintaining their attractiveness and societal legitimacy to ensure a sufficient number of conscripts.

In addition, in conscription-based armies, conscription is only the first phase of military training, which continues for an extended period through reserve service. In Estonia, this involves participation in training exercises from time to time for up to 60 consecutive days until age 60 years (Military Service Act, 2012). In wartime, the reserve army forms the backbone of the defense structure. The wartime composition of the EDF totals more than 43,000 posts, with 4,200 manned by active EDF members and 38,800 by reservists and members of the voluntary defense organization, the Estonian Defence League (Kaitsevägi, n.d.). As the experience of conscription significantly influences the military readiness of reservists (Laanepere & Kasearu, 2021), it is crucial to provide conscripts with a positive training experience, which encourages them to continue participating in reservist training and fulfill their duties in state defense if needed. This notion is also reflected in the practices of the EDF and in publicly voiced statements by EDF officials.

According to the official information provided by the Kaitseressursside Amet (Defence Resources Agency, n.d.), conscripts have the right to meet with family and friends at least once a month in the unit. In addition, military units organize open house days for visitors a few times each year. Mobile phones are permitted according to unit rules, typically during free time. Conscripts are also entitled to a certain number of vacation days based on the length of their service: those serving 8 months receive 10 days of leave, while those serving 11 months receive 15 days. However, in recent years, the EDF has experimented with a more flexible mode of service, allowing conscripts to leave the barracks almost every weekend and sometimes also in the evenings and return in the mornings after the period of basic training.¹ EDF officials have explained this approach by stating that “if small changes in the way conscription is conducted improve people’s motivation, readiness to serve in the reserves, build better teams, and create more motivated, proactive, and courageous battlefield leaders and soldiers, then we are ready to do anything” (Paju, 2020).

Data and Method

The current study adheres to the principles of qualitative inductive approach. A qualitative approach was chosen for this study as it allows for the discovery of nuances in existing theories and the development of ideas from particulars to abstractions by examining phenomena through the experiences of people and discussing their views in the context in which they occur (Creswell, 1994). While the inductive perspective does not aim for generalizability to the general population (in our case, conscripts), it helps identify themes and patterns across cases that provide insights into the phenomenon of interest and offers detailed, contextualized, and empirically grounded interpretations that can later be studied quantitatively to assess the prevalence of key patterns found inductively (Nowell & Albrecht, 2019). In addition, to examine changes in conscripts’ perceptions during their service, the study was designed to be longitudinal because longitudinal qualitative research offers insights into changes along individual and structural dimensions and allows for the analysis of shifts in individuals’ actions and perspectives (Hollstein, 2021; Saldaña, 2003).

Participants

The study aimed to have 15 participants, a number intentionally kept low due to the longitudinal design. Although this sample size is on the lower end of the typical range, the optimal number of participants must also account for the number of interviews carried out throughout the study (Morse, 2000). In longitudinal research, the workload for researchers intensifies over time as previous transcripts must be reviewed before subsequent interviews. When one individual is interviewed multiple times, as in our study, this results in a large amount of data, which requires fewer participants, with even 6 to 10 participants considered sufficient (Morse, 2000). We aimed as well to balance between having a sample large enough to generate new and rich insights into the phenomenon but small enough to allow for deep and detailed analysis of individual cases. However, considering that some conscripts leave the service due to mental or physical health issues, that entering conscript service is a significant life change, and that the training is intensive and leaves little free time—along with the additional time required for long-term participation in the study—some dropouts were anticipated. Therefore, a larger target sample of 20 participants was set to ensure a sufficient number of long-term participants in the study.

The study sample was composed of conscripts who started their service in 2021 in the Estonian Defence Forces infantry brigade and served for 11 months. An invitation to participate in the study was circulated through social media and the Defence Resource Agency (DRA). Following the invitation to participate in the study, 34 young men responded and completed a short questionnaire. The information from the questionnaire was used to select participants for the study. The selection process aimed to include a variety of participants with different backgrounds and attitudes to stratify the sample and gather insights from various perspectives. In terms of background, we included participants from different regions and ages, ranging from youth who joined service straight from high school to those a bit older and possibly already enrolled in university or employed, which might affect their perceptions of service.

Regarding attitudes, the goal was to capture a range of sentiments toward conscription. Draftees can either wait for an invitation, which can happen between ages 17 to 27 years, or apply voluntarily, allowing them to serve immediately and, to some extent, choose where they serve. Applying for service is not always about motivation; some prefer to fulfill their duty on their own terms, avoiding disruption later in life. Therefore, the selection of participants also considered the combination of how they entered the service and their sentiment toward the service. Since conscription is mandatory for men but voluntary for women, the study included only men. The questionnaire also confirmed the respondents’ gender to ensure all participants were male.

As anticipated, some participants dropped out during the first 3 months of the study. Although we expected 15 participants to remain, six dropped out, leaving us with 14 participants to follow throughout their service. Three were exempted from the service due to health problems, two found participating in the study to be too time-consuming, and contact was lost with one participant. Table 1 provides an overview of the participants’ characteristics.

Table 1.

Overview of Participants.

Participant	Age	Entering service	Sentiment toward service
1	20	Draft	Starting gladly
2	19	Application	Starting gladly
3	19	Draft	Fulfilling duty
4	19	Application	Starting gladly
5	19	Draft	Starting gladly
6	19	Application	Fulfilling duty
7	19	Application	Fulfilling duty
8	21	Draft	Fulfilling duty
9	19	Application	Starting gladly
10	20	Application	Starting gladly
11	19	Application	Fulfilling duty
12	22	Application	Starting gladly
13	19	Application	Starting gladly
14	20	Draft	Fulfilling duty
Dropped out during the first 3 months
15	19	Application	Starting gladly
16	24	Draft	Fulfilling duty
17	18	Application	Fulfilling duty
18	19	Application	Would avoid it if it were possible
19	19	Draft	Fulfilling duty
20	19	Application	Fulfilling duty

Most participants said they were either glad to start their service or ready to fulfill their duty. Only one participant expressed a desire to avoid service if possible, but unfortunately, that participant dropped out of the study. However, the initial interviews conducted before the start of service showed that several participants who claimed to be ready to fulfill their duty were also not positively inclined toward the service and viewed it in a negative light. Nevertheless, since these opinions were in the minority, the variety of viewpoints in the study may be limited, presenting a limitation to the study.

Data Collection

Data were collected over 1 year, starting before participants entered conscription and ending after they had left. To develop a deep understanding of the experiences of conscripts in service, which is inherent to inductive methods (Creswell & Poth, 2018), we combined different data collection methods: interviews, diaries, video blogs, and observations. Different methods were used to also avoid respondent fatigue from participating in the study. Figure 1 gives an overview of the data collection process.

Figure 1.

Overview of the Data Collection

Qualitative semi-structured interviews were conducted three times during the study. These interviews aimed to capture the conscripts’ attitudes and perceptions about conscription and how they changed during conscript service. Participants were interviewed either face-to-face or online. All interviews were voice-recorded. After the soldier’s specialty basic course (SSBC), a video blog was conducted. Both the interviews and video blogs were transcribed.

The Ethica Data platform was used for the diary method. Every participant had to install an Ethica Data app on their mobile phones and received a unique participant number, which enabled connecting all their entries into one thread. The participant number was linked to their name in a separate file to connect them in a later phase with other data collected. Diary entries were guided by the questions sent out through the app. Participants filled out the diaries on their phones throughout the service. Interviews, video blogs, and diary entries resulted in 723 pages of transcripts.

The observations aimed to understand better the environment and activities the study participants were engaged in daily. Three observation days occurred: on the conscripts’ arrival to the unit and at the beginning and middle of SSBC. Observations did not follow any strict protocol but were rather explorative. During observations, conversations in free form emerged with study participants. These were not recorded but were written down with other observational notes.

Data Analysis

We used thematic analysis to explore how conscripts perceive their service and how this perception changes during service. The thematic analysis enables the identification, analysis, and reporting of patterns within data, and while general issues are determined before starting the analysis, specific themes emerge during the process (Braun & Clarke, 2006; Ezzy, 2002).

First, we carried out the open coding process and formulated the initial categories based on the codes. Second, these categories were merged into more inclusive themes. This process involved repeated readings, as well as reviewing and refining the codes, categories, and themes. Such experimentation is inherent to open coding (Ezzy, 2002). We finally formed four themes: barriers to the outside world, the expectations of discipline and hierarchy, looking for agency and meaningful service, and dynamic relations with commanders. Randomly assigned participant numbers (see Table 1) have been used throughout this article to ensure the anonymity of the participants.

Findings and Discussion

Barriers to the Outside World

A central barrier to interacting with the outside world was time. During the SBC period of their service, participants described how their opportunities for interaction with loved ones were quite limited. Since the intense training during that period, they mostly had opportunities to interact by calling or messaging in the evenings for 1 hour. Even then, they often felt too tired to communicate. However, this was not broadly complained about; instead, it was accepted as a given. For instance, Participant 10 expressed this sentiment as “since time here is a limited resource, there is nothing to be done about it.”

After completing the SBC, participants found they had more time to communicate, as the training was no longer as intense. Nevertheless, there were periods throughout their service when they trained outside of the barracks, in the forest, during which phones were either prohibited or only allowed after bedtime, provided that no sound or light was visible from the phones so as not to disturb others. These days were still very intense, and the time available for communication was again limited. Limited time for communication also led to the necessity of choosing whom to keep in contact with, either while in the unit in training or at home for the weekend. Consider the example of Participant 5, who describes how access to phones altered his relations:

In the last two weeks, there have been two three-day forest camps where I have not been able to use my phone once, so not much [time for communication]. Since there has been so little time to communicate with my loved ones, I have only been in contact with my girlfriend because I have prioritized her.

When asked whether study participants perceived a change in their relationships with their loved ones during service, most said they remained relatively unchanged. However, the changes that participants indicated appeared to be quite individual. While some conscripts experienced increased social distance, others noted a decrease, indicating varied impacts of conscription on personal relationships. For example, Participant 14 experienced a closer bond with his mother. He attributed this change to a sense of growing maturity, saying that he felt this was “partly because I feel a bit more grown-up, I can relate to her more.” This is also illustrated by Participant 2’s decision to postpone his parents’ visit to the unit. He explained,

My parents are keen to visit, but I deliberately have not told them when they can. There is a reason for this. I do not want to provoke feelings of homesickness just yet. /. . ./ I want to surprise them when I get a weekend pass. I want to hear if I have changed.

Here, we see an indication of conscription being viewed as an opportunity for self-reinvention—a space for self-development and independence, even deliberately extending the time away from family to observe their reactions to the “new” self, which has also been brought out in previous studies (Dar & Kimhi, 2001; Davies, 1989; Scott, 2011).

Being distanced from civil life also led to negative impacts. It was noted that relationships with friends and family had become more superficial for two reasons: first, communication through phone and social media is inherently more superficial, and second, even when meeting in person, they found themselves out of touch with the latest news, movies, or computer games. “Keeping in touch with the real world” or “asking about what is happening in the outside world” are phrases participants commonly used to describe the content of the communication with their loved ones. This is an indication of what Goffman (1957) termed the “stripping process,” suggesting that, even though the institution is not entirely closed, there might be insufficient time for individual interests, resulting in a sense of distance from one’s previous identity, friends, and family back home (p. 50). Participant 4 described his sentiment:

Maybe now I understand a bit what they talk about in the US, you know, when you are a veteran, and then you do not know what to do because all your skills are very military-based. /. . ./ Not that my skills are purely military-based, but all I can talk about is, well, my everyday life is in the military, I do not know how, or it is a bit hard to relate to someone who is not in the military, or for them to relate to you.

As conscripts spend most of their time in training, they cannot keep themselves as up-to-date with recent news and popular culture as they used to, thus creating segregation from their civilian lives. They also feel that people outside the service do not understand them as much and do not have as many common topics to discuss, as their daily lives revolve around the military. This underscores how entering the institution creates barriers to the outside world as conscripts become part of the military environment. It also highlights how military-specific capital, acquired through military socialization, contributes to the totality of conscription by becoming part of an individual’s pre-existing social and cultural capital or even replacing it, thereby making it challenging to relate to the civilian sphere (Swed, 2014; Swed & Butler, 2015).

Moving between two fields, the civilian and the military, led to interesting and contradictory perceptions of the military. For instance, there are two diary entries made by Participant 1 during service, one before and one after a weeklong leave:

Although the short-term leaves are nice, I am starting to feel that I somehow do not want to go, as happy as they [the leaves] are. I do not have any worries or expenses in the military, but it is hard in the short-term leave with my girlfriend and absolutely all my friends want to get together, and it is challenging mentally and physically to be everywhere and interact with everyone at once. (Before leave)

The vacation certainly served its purpose; during the week I even forgot that I was in conscript service. I definitely came back feeling rested but also a little defiant as I was able to get used to civilian life in that short time and now, unfortunately, I have to give it up again. (After leave)

Looking at another example, Participant 8 described that he felt like himself “only from Friday to Sunday” as on the weekends conscripts could leave the military premises. He mentioned that, even while at home, his thoughts lingered on conscript service and his impending return to the military environment. This reflects how the totality of conscript service extends to the civilian sphere. Even when not physically on base, conscripts still feel a sense of belonging to the total institution.

Based on our empirical findings, what we observe regarding the barriers to the outside world is the tension between the home and institutional worlds, a central attribute of total institutions, evident in both the physical and social environments (Goffman, 1957). While not entirely rigid, these barriers separate those inside the institution from the outside world. Experiencing estrangement from their civilian lives while in the military, or even when away for a short period, suggests that despite attempts to increase the permeability of the service, it takes more than simply allowing conscripts to leave the barracks to make conscription less of a total institution.

Expectations on Discipline and Hierarchy

A central part of the anticipated totality of their service was the expectation of acquiring self-discipline for their future lives as they emphasized the expectation that the military would be a highly structured and organized place. Strict hierarchies and discipline are indeed inherent characteristics of total institutions (Goffman, 1957). While some conscripts confirmed that they did gain self-discipline and self-confidence, it was more commonly mentioned that conscription did not fully meet their expectations in that regard:

It was not really that you become more disciplined in the defense force, it is that you have that self-discipline that you have gotten from your own previous life, and it comes with you into the defense force, not the other way around. If you did not bother to do anything in civilian life, you did not bother to do anything in the defense forces. (Participant 10)

After completing their service, many study participants noted that their experience of conscription was a bit more liberal and less militaristic than expected. They had heard stories about how conscript service was in the past and felt those times were tougher and more interesting. This led to disappointment as they perceived a softening in the nature of conscription, contributing to a sense of unfulfilled expectations among some conscripts. Much of the critique was related to the fact that, after a couple of months in the service, there were several changes on the organizational side of the service.

For instance, conscripts were allowed to leave the unit every weekend already since the beginning of their service, which most study participants saw in general as a positive change. However, Participant 5 remarked that even though it would have been nice to get a weekend pass right from the beginning of the service, he can now say that he had had “the hard service.”

Another change was related to the decreased rights of the drill sergeants, that is, conscripts who had entered the service 6 months earlier and had become conscript leaders. There had been complaints about drill sergeants abusing their power. When it had been customary to do push-ups with their platoon while waiting in the canteen queue, drill sergeants also often used push-ups as a form of punishment. Study participants considered doing push-ups daily in the canteen queue a good practice to prepare themselves for the fitness test conducted at the end of the SBC period, and they were skeptical about discontinuing this practice—not for their own sake, but for future conscripts and how losing this practice might affect their fitness test results. The rights of drill sergeants were overall significantly reduced, which participants saw as leveling the hierarchy and leading to a loss of respect for drill sergeants. Participants commented on this:

They are no longer allowed to punish conscripts and give them orders and whatnot. I think it is kind of stupid that the conscription becomes such a military-themed sports camp. (Participant 5)

/. . ./ I was expecting it to be tougher, that you are actually ordered to do push-ups and stupid tasks, but the reality was that since we live in a welfare society, these were banned at the beginning of our service, so, in reality, you do not actually get to do anything fun /. . ./ (Participant 3)

The reactions of our study participants to the majority of these changes emphasize the expectation that conscription should be challenging and demanding and that a certain totality is expected from conscription. While these shifts in practices demonstrate the military’s response to internal pressures and reflect its reaction to normative drivers for change, they also suggest that such changes pose a challenge to total institutions and may lead to a decrease in the exclusivity and the appeal of military organizations (Holmberg & Alvinius, 2019). Given that positive experiences during conscription are a crucial determinant of conscripts’ future readiness to serve in the reserves (Laanepere & Kasearu, 2021), the armed forces need to balance between responding to normative pressures and maintaining their exclusivity.

Look for Agency and Meaningful Service

Participants also expected that the military would offer opportunities for personal development and, in a sense, serve as a “reinventinve institution” (Scott, 2011). The EDF has indeed made efforts to tailor conscript service more closely to conscripts’ previous competencies and preferences. This is most evident at the end of the SBC period when conscripts are assigned to specialty courses that determine their training for the remainder of their 9 months in service. Study participants described that at the end of the SBC, they were given the opportunity to express their preferences for the specialty course they wished to pursue. While some conscripts could indeed pursue the course they had wished for, others did not. This was primarily because of the skills they had already acquired in their civilian lives, which the military saw as convertible to the military context, therefore following the institutional needs.

For instance, Participant 8, who had already acquired a university education in computer science before service, wanted to avoid the cyber conscription unit but was eventually still assigned to it. While this unit might seem like an opportunity to develop such skills further during conscription, he found it would be “a bit unfair that I would work for free for them.” This example, in which the participant would rather forgo developing skills related to his professional background than provide the military with his skills for free, can be seen as an indication of individualization, weakening the normative commitment to conscription (Adres et al., 2012; Kosonen et al., 2019) and emphasizing the transactional character of service, or “contractual militarism” (Levy et al., 2007), as observed among military professionals.

Another example of the transactional character of service is that some conscripts actively resisted the course they were assigned when it did not align with their preferences. For instance, Participant 11 mentioned that talking with the “right people at the right time” significantly impacted his service trajectory. What we observe now is a form of “pragmatic conscription,” where conscripts openly seek a convertible value from their service, and militaries (to an extent) are responding to these expectations through organizational practices (Lillemäe et al., 2023b).

However, conscripts also struggled with the limitations placed on exercising their agency. Participant 5 described,

They could try to be more considerate of the conscripts as people, so to speak. Well, it is also true that the internal regulations state that a conscript subordinates all his personal interests and benefits to his service, because it is not really important whether a soldier is satisfied with his position or anything else, as long as the security and defence of Estonia is guaranteed. But, in my opinion, some wishes that conscripts have, which could be easily fulfilled, are simply overridden and not bothered to deal with, which sucks a bit.

They also had to tackle the differences between civilian and military spheres regarding how their efforts and actions would influence the outcome:

I was used to getting what I wanted [before entering service]. Of course I had to work hard for it, but I was used to the fact that if I worked hard, I would get it. And then in the military I first noticed that no matter how much effort I put in, no matter how good soldier I was, I was not the first one to get a weekend pass. I was not even the second one. I was the third one. At least I was not the last. But then I was like, okay, that is what life is going to be like, so I’m just going to keep trying and hope I get noticed. (Participant 9)

The meaningfulness and convertibility of the service were also rethought during service while adapting to unexpected courses the service sometimes took. Participant 10, for instance, stated that he tried to make the most from each opportunity in life, and that would go for conscription, too. He said he would prefer to avoid being a driver to avoid idle waiting related to the specialty, and he did not see the convertible value in a higher category driver’s license. However, by the end of the SBC, he had changed his mind, seeing the driver’s position as a less stressful path and acknowledging others’ suitability for leadership roles. He said that in the middle of conscription, he understood that he had not fulfilled his aim to get the maximum from the service. Therefore, he decided to fulfill it in other ways:

/. . ./ As a driver I got to drive in different places and then I got to try out the car a lot, so [I took the best] in terms of cooler experiences like that. Or then . . . there were food parcels and there were different things in the food parcels. My [family member, anonymized] liked one of the chocolates from there, and then I organized as many of them as I could to take to my [family member, anonymized]. /. . ./ That is how I saw that I ended up taking everything I could take [from the service].

Dynamic Relations With Commanders

Participants’ descriptions of their relationships with their direct commanders indicated a shift away from traditional military hierarchies toward a more approachable, mentorship-oriented leadership style. They described that, while commanders initially adopted a strict demeanor to establish authority, they became more lenient during the course of service. Several conscripts characterized the relationship between their direct commanders and conscripts as akin to that between an “older and younger brother” or “more like friends.” While some found this motivating, others perceived it as a basis for unequal treatment:

Some commanders fraternised with some of the conscripts. Even went to the bar together on weekends. /. . ./ At a certain point, it could start to interfere. It is the same, I guess, I have not been employed very much, but if you get on very well with your boss, or if you are friends, it can start to interfere with the work. Or then in the military, it is that some people did not get the same punishment as somebody else would have. (Participant 2)

Indeed, those commanders who interact with conscripts daily are either other conscripts who came to the service earlier and have acquired a higher rank or recent graduates from the military academy. These commanders are typically relatively young. The social control, in Goffman’s (1961) sense, that is supposed to be exercised over conscripts was altered (pp. 39–41). While there was still a spillover between different spheres, where actions during leisure time affected training, its nature changed. It was no longer about relationships among conscripts and how their interactions during leisure time impacted training and morale; instead, it now concerned the relations between conscripts and commanders, granting advantages to some and creating a sense of inequality among conscripts. However, as the conscripts did not have any power to act on it, such behavior was frowned upon but not publicly voiced.

Another phenomenon that can be observed here is the civilianization of the military, characterized by the military increasingly mirroring civilian organizational structures and practices, thereby normalizing the military organization (Holmberg & Alvinius). This includes commanders adopting managerial roles, which slip into relations with conscripts and conscripts becoming more of a participatory workforce. The social distance between the “inmates” and “staff” (Goffman, 1961/2022: 6–7) is diminishing. This reduced stratification has also been noted between soldiers and officers in contemporary volunteer forces (Moskos et al., 2000; Norheim-Martinsen, 2016).

While the relationships with participants’ direct commanders are characterized as relatively informal, there appears to be less interaction with higher-level active-duty leaders, and interactions with them seem to follow a more hierarchical and strict pattern. Conscripts described that whether they could and would express their opinions in service overall and whether these opinions were taken into account depended greatly on the specific circumstances and their own positions in the hierarchy. For example, Participant 2 became a driver and stated, “as I was put in a driver position, I cannot have my opinion.” However, he did not dwell on it much and mentioned that it did not bother him that he did not have many opportunities to express his opinion: “If my tasks were done, what else is there to say. /. . ./ Rather not, it did not bother me at all.”

On the contrary, Participant 9 became a squad leader, and he described that he could offer his opinions and recommendations to his conscript platoon leader, but the final decision on how to proceed ultimately rested with the platoon leader. However, he provided an example to illustrate that in situations where active-duty service members were giving orders, there was no room for his input, as “first of all, I do not know this thing they are talking about. And second, they do not consult a sergeant on the kind of issues they are discussing.” He also said that active-duty service members did listen to conscripts’ suggestions in certain situations but only when it was relevant and appropriate. This sentiment was echoed by other participants who felt that some of their commanders viewed them as resources or pieces for maneuvering on the battlefield rather than individuals.

Therefore, at the lower levels of the hierarchy, we could observe the civilianization and normalization of the military, where conscripts were treated more as equals and regarded as part of a participatory workforce. However, it also created tensions, as some conscripts felt that fraternization between commanders and conscripts led to unequal treatment during training. At the higher levels of the hierarchy, participants found they had to “find that line between where you can say something and where it is reasonable to say something, and where you just have to keep your mouth shut” (Participant 7). These reactions suggest that participants also did not expect the military to be as hierarchical as they ultimately experienced it to be.

Conclusion

This study aimed to examine how societal transformations are reflected in the daily lives of conscripts and how conscripts respond to and perceive conscription as a total institution. The study shows that conscripts negotiate, partially accept, and simultaneously resist the classical characteristics of a total institution—strict hierarchies, discipline, and separation from civilian life (Goffman, 1957). On one hand, they expect totality from their conscription and feel somewhat disappointed when their experience does not align with the “lore” they have heard. They have a subjective sense that conscription has become easier and softer, and they even mention that this has to do with the welfare society. On the other hand, their responses to certain situations indicate that conscription is more total than anticipated, as their input does not play a significant role and their opportunities to exercise agency are quite limited, forcing them to rethink their conscription experience. These tensions result in two different types of negotiations.

The first type involves short-term and situational negotiations. Examples include using a phone when it is not permitted or experimenting with new social roles, such as communicating with commanders and discerning the boundaries of expressing their opinions. Such negotiations can also induce changes within the organization. For instance, study participants recounted several changes on the organizational side of their service during the time they served, which made service more flexible and, from their perspective, also less disciplined. The second type pertains to negotiations about personal long-term goals. The empirical material examined in this study underscores the ongoing adaptations that conscripts undergo within the military environment. Many participants discuss strategically using their time during conscription, such as advocating for enrollment in a specific course to benefit from it later.

The study also highlights the aspect of transitions into and out of the total institution. Conscripts’ experiences are not confined solely to their time within the military but are significantly shaped by their movements between the military and the outside world. While reservists have been compared to transmigrants who continuously move between the civilian and military spheres and move into and out of the military system (Lomsky-Feder et al., 2008), such a comparison could also be adapted to conscripts. The difference between reservists’ and conscripts’ “migration” is its rapidity. Even seemingly routine events such as visiting family members profoundly impact conscripts’ perceptions and realizations. These transitions serve as pivotal moments of reflection and contrast, allowing conscripts to gain fresh insights into their lives both within and outside the military.

While offering insight into how conscripts experience the elements of a total institution and how they relate to and reinterpret their experience, the study also contributes to understanding the dynamics between conscripted armed forces and societies. From the organizational level, there is a tension between meeting the organization’s needs and adapting to the expectations of today’s conscription-aged population and the broader public. Even though EDF makes efforts to allow conscripts to advocate for their preferences, and their training at lower levels has characteristics similar to a civilian workforce, higher-ranking officers still need to make the final decisions based on organizational needs. Dealings with lower-level commanders often involve a sense of teamwork, signaling the civilianization of the military. In contrast, interactions with higher-level commanders continue to follow a traditional, more rigid structure where compliance is enforced through coercion. Paying more attention to individual life courses and aligning practices with those of civilian workplaces are responses to normative drivers for organizational change aimed at guaranteeing the continued legitimacy of the organization (Holmberg & Alvinius, 2019). It reveals that conscripted armed forces might follow the same general trend observed among military professionals, acquiring a more negotiatory character (King, 2006; Levy, 2010; Levy et al., 2007). However, this shift might also contribute to the normalization of the military, potentially resulting in a loss of its exclusivity and creating inner tensions within the organization (Holmberg & Alvinius, 2019). As conscripts also seek exclusivity from their experience, and positive experiences during conscription are a key determinant of their future willingness to serve in the reserves (Laanepere & Kasearu, 2021), the armed forces must balance adhering to normative pressures while maintaining this sense of exclusivity.

A potential limitation of this research is that most participants were either glad to start their service or ready to fulfill their duty, and the only participant who openly wanted to avoid service left the study. While some conscripts expressed negative sentiments toward conscription, these opinions were in the minority, potentially restricting the range of perspectives included. In addition, considering the overall small sample stemming from the longitudinal qualitative study design, this study does not allow for broad generalizability. However, it provides valuable insights into the phenomenon of conscripted armed forces as a total institution and offers detailed and contextualized interpretations. These interpretations can later be studied quantitatively to assess how widely the key patterns appear in a larger sample. The findings of the current study could also be used to study other Western conscripted armed forces to draw broader conclusions and implications regarding how societal changes influence the transformation of conscripted armed forces and how these armed forces manage the inner tensions that arise from such changes.

Footnotes

Acknowledgements

The authors thank the University of Tartu doctoral seminar participants and Ori Swed for their insightful comments on the draft of this article. The authors would also like to express their gratitude to Marii-Liis Tulk and Elen Lina for their contributions in assisting with carrying out the study. The deepest gratitude belongs to the study participants who kindly shared their conscript experiences with us.

Declaration of Conflicting Interests

The authors declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.

Funding

The authors disclosed receipt of the following financial support for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article: This research was carried out in cooperation between the Estonian Military Academy and University of Tartu, under projects no. R-006, and SSVUH18330.

ORCID iDs

Eleri Lillemäe

Eyal Ben-Ari

Notes

Author Biographies

Eleri Lillemäe is a researcher at the Estonian Military Academy and a PhD student at the University of Tartu. She conducts research related to human resources in the armed forces. Her research focuses on mandatory military conscription, well-being of conscripts, wider societal processes related to the armed forces, and public perceptions on the use of autonomous technologies in the military context.

Kairi Kasearu is a professor of empirical sociology at the Institute of Social Studies at the University of Tartu, Estonia. Since 2013, she has been leading the military sociology research group at the university. Her research interests include family sociology and military sociology. Recently, her work has focused on conscription systems, the value profiles of conscripts, their attitudes and well-being, the reserve force, and societal willingness to defend.

Eyal Ben-Ari is a Senior Research Fellow at the Jerusalem Institute for Strategy and Security. He has carried out research in Israel, Japan, Singapore, Taiwan, and Hong Kong. He studies the armed forces, early childhood education, and popular culture in Asia. By the time of writing this article, he was a Visiting Professor at the Estonian Military Academy.

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