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Although the last few decades have witnessed a shift from conscription to all-volunteer forces in many European countries, recent changes in the European security environment have raised new concerns and prompted several countries to reconsider conscription. However, modern conscription systems have also had to adapt to changing societies and an increasing emphasis on individualistic and neoliberal values. This study aims to examine the various forms of military conscription and illuminate the continuing viability of the conscription model in six European countries: Estonia, Finland, Lithuania, Norway, Sweden, and Switzerland. Four of these countries have consistently maintained conscription (Estonia, Finland, Norway, and Switzerland), while Lithuania and Sweden have recently reinstated conscription. Although conscription systems differ among these countries, there is overall an increasing emphasis on conscript motivation and female participation. Three key aspects are identified to describe different conscription systems: the proportion of conscripted individuals in the birth cohort, motivation to serve, and the approach to female conscripts. Combining these aspects, the study identifies three types of conscription system in these six countries. This article demonstrates that conscription has evolved and adapted to changing societies and security situations instead of merely retaining its traditional form.

What makes individuals willing to defend their (adopted) homeland as their own? This is an essential question for all diverse societies. We turn to the case of Estonia, which inherited a sizable Russian-speaking population after the fall of the Soviet Union. Using recent polling data, we test demographic and attitudinal predictors of defense willingness among the first generation of males that have been raised in the republic since the restoration of independence. The results enable us to unpack differences between Estonian-speakers and Russian-speakers, as well as disagreements among the latter, which shed light on the state of social cohesion in Estonia’s national fabric.

Undocumented Migrants (UDM) belong to the most vulnerable groups in times of global emergency situations. COVID-19 does hit hardest the most vulnerable groups and it is important to create an evidence base to guide policy making. The Center for Health and Migration, Vienna, has initiated a stock-taking of national regulations concerning access to health and social care for UDM. The initiative aims to create a landscape of policy frameworks to inform policy making and practice development. National experts on health and migration are contacted and asked to provide information on the respective legal frameworks in the following categories: work, housing, compulsory education, social welfare, and health. A validated template is used for data collection.

Introduction: Children are influenced by different environments – home, friends, school, community, society, and the existence and availability of various services – and child well-being is the outcome of the interrelationships between the child and these environments. The military is one of the environments that shapes the well-being of children in military families, and the environments interact with each other. Methods: Our main assumption is that the effect of military environment on child well-being may vary in different societies depending on the general social security system. We describe how the military children’s well-being is embedded in military systems, which in turn is embedded in welfare state. The main question is how the well-being of children from military families varies across countries and how much variation can be explained by the interplay between military systems and different welfare regimes. Results: We begin by describing the differences in welfare states and military systems, and then give a short overview of children’s well-being in the context of different welfare regimes (e.g., availability of public child care, health care, and access to education and extracurricular activities). Discussion: Next, we look at the interplay between the military and welfare regimes and, finally, we show how the well-being of military children is supported across countries by their different welfare regimes., Introduction : Les enfants sont influencés par différents environnements – maison, amis, école, communauté, société, et l’existence et la disponibilité de différents services – et le bien-être de l’enfant est le résultat de l’interaction entre l’enfant et ces environnements. L’environnement militaire influence le bien-être des enfants de familles militaires. De plus, il est nécessaire de mentionner que les environnements s’influencent mutuellement. Méthodes : Notre principale hypothèse est que l’effet de l’environnement militaire sur le bien-être de l’enfant peut varier d’une société à l’autre, selon le système général de sécurité sociale. Nous décrivons comment le bien-être des enfants de militaires est intégré au système militaire, qui à son tour est intégré dans un État providence. La principale question est : quelles sont les différences dans le bien-être des enfants de familles militaires dans différents pays, et dans quelle mesure ces différences peuvent-elles être expliquées par l’interaction entre le système militaire et les différents régimes de bien-être? Résultats et discussion: En premier, nous décrivons les différences entre l’État providence et les systèmes militaires, ensuite nous présentons un aperçu du bien-être de l’enfant dans le cadre des différents régimes de bien-être (disponibilité des services publics pour les enfants, soins de santé et accès à l’éducation, activités parascolaires), ensuite nous mettons l’accent sur l’interaction entre l’environnement militaire et les régimes de bien-être, et finalement, nous démontrons comment le bien-être des enfants de militaires est géré dans différents pays, qui ont des régimes de bien-être différents.

Independent and interdependent self-construal values of three generations and the intergenerational similarity of self-construal was compared in three countries. The participants were 837 adolescents, their mothers (227 from Russia, 311 from Germany, and 299 from Estonia) and 293 maternal grandmothers. In Germany, all three generations displayed higher scores on independence than participants from other countries. Russian participants had higher scores on interdependence compared to participants from other countries. Adolescents scored significantly higher on the interdependent self-construal than the two older generations, and higher than the mothers' generation on the independent self-construal. Grandmothers' self-construal was related to mothers' in all three countries. In Germany and Estonia, mothers' interdependent self-construal was related to adolescents' interdependent self-construal. Grandmothers' (but not mothers') independent self-construal predicted adolescents' independent self-construal. The results are discussed in light of the Family Change Theory and the different roles the participants have.

Independent and interdependent self-construal values of three generations and the intergenerational similarity of self-construal was compared in three countries. The participants were 837 adolescents, their mothers (227 from Russia, 311 from Germany, and 299 from Estonia) and 293 maternal grandmothers. In Germany, all three generations displayed higher scores on independence than participants from other countries. Russian participants had higher scores on interdependence compared to participants from other countries. Adolescents scored significantly higher on the interdependent self-construal than the two older generations, and higher than the mothers’ generation on the independent self-construal. Grandmothers’ self-construal was related to mothers’ in all three countries. In Germany and Estonia, mothers’ interdependent self-construal was related to adolescents’ interdependent self-construal. Grandmothers’ (but not mothers’) independent self-construal predicted adolescents’ independent self-construal. The results are discussed in light of the Family Change Theory and the different roles the participants have.