This article critically analyzes Estonia’s defense strategy and the usefulness of mandatory military service and corresponding reserve forces. Due to the end of the Cold War, some states have switched from a conscript system to a professional army. Small states do not have an abundance of resources. NATO members that have chosen to maintain mandatory military service, like Estonia, have debated whether such a structure is an efficient use of resources. This article will add to that debate by using human security and non-traditional security concepts to offer a more complete understanding of Estonia’s security challenges. This article concludes that having a mandatory military service based reserve aimed at territorial defense is outdated. However, this article also concludes that mandatory military and civil service could play a significant role in improving national security, if it was aimed at integrating and improving society, not defending territory.
