The Limits of Internalising Military Obligation: Military Service Avoidance among Young Men in Lithuania
Articles
Titas Gabrielius Časas
General Jonas Žemaitis Military Academy of Lithuania image/svg+xml
Published 2026-10-20
https://doi.org/10.15388/SocMintVei.2025.57.2
PDF
HTML

Keywords

mandatory military service
military service avoidance
neutralisation techniques
norm internalisation
value change

How to Cite

Časas, T.G. (2026) “The Limits of Internalising Military Obligation: Military Service Avoidance among Young Men in Lithuania”, Sociologija. Mintis ir veiksmas, 57(2), pp. 29–45. doi:10.15388/SocMintVei.2025.57.2.

Abstract

This article analyses how young men of conscription age in Lithuania make sense of avoiding or postponing initial mandatory military service. Based on semi-structured in-depth interviews with men aged 18–26 who had been included on conscription lists and declared fit for service but had not served, the article examines how they understand military obligation, justify non-service, and internalise the norm of military obligation. Drawing on theories of neutralisation techniques, social anomie, and value change, the study shows that informants generally recognise the state’s right to organise national defence and the legality of conscription, yet do not always perceive military service as an unconditional personal moral obligation. They justify avoidance by referring to studies, professional trajectories, alternative forms of civic contribution, institutional distrust, and peer experiences. The findings suggest that avoidance reflects a fragmented internalisation of the norm of military obligation: legal recognition of the norm does not necessarily coincide with its moral binding force, revealing discrepancies between the legal, moral, and social dimensions of military obligation.

PDF
HTML

References

Abramson, Paul; Inglehart, Ronald. 1995. Value Change in Global Perspective. Ann Arbor: The University of Michigan Press.

Baltutytė, Gerda. 2019. „Nuolatinės privalomosios pradinės karo tarnybos karių tarnybos motyvacija: subjektyvus dalyvių vertinimas“, Tiltai: socialiniai mokslai 1 (82): 48–66. https://doi.org/10.15181/tbb.v82i1.1959

Bicchieri, Cristina. 2017. Norms in the Wild: How to Diagnose, Measure, and Change Social Norms. New York: Oxford University Press. https://doi.org/10.1093/acprof:oso/9780190622046.001.0001

Braun, Virginia; Clarke, Victoria. 2006. „Using Thematic Analysis in Psychology“, Qualitative Research in Psychology 3 (2): 77–101. https://doi.org/10.1191/1478088706qp063oa

Cialdini, Robert B.; Reno, Raymond R.; Kallgren, Carl A. 1990. „A Focus Theory of Normative Conduct: Recycling the Concept of Norms to Reduce Littering in Public Places“, Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 58 (6): 1015–1026. https://psycnet.apa.org/doi/10.1037/0022-3514.58.6.1015

Conway, Daniel. 2008. „The Masculine State in Crisis: State Response to War Resistance in Apartheid South Africa“, Men and Masculinities 10 (4): 422–439. https://doi.org/10.1177/1097184X07306742

Časas, Titas Gabrielius. ٢٠٢٥. Privalomosios karo tarnybos suvokimas ir tarnybos vengimo patirtys tarp šaukiamojo amžiaus jaunuolių. Magistro darbas. Vilnius: Vilniaus universitetas.

Česnuitytė, Vida. ٢٠٢٥. „Conscription in Lithuania: Still Under Discussion, Should It Be Compulsory and Universal, or Voluntary Only?“ in Tibor Szvircsev Tresch, Vida Česnuitytė, Kairi Kasearu, Teija Sederholm and Johan Österberg (eds.) Conscription as Subject of National Security: Comparative Perspective in Europe at the Beginning of the ٢١st Century. Wiesbaden: Springer VS: 73–91. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-658-47545-1_4

Česnuitytė, Vida; Kasearu, Kairi; Lillemäe, Eleri. ٢٠٢٥. „Motivation to Complete Conscript Training: Between Duty to the Homeland and Patriotism“ in Tibor Szvircsev Tresch, Vida Česnuitytė, Kairi Kasearu, Teija Sederholm and Johan Österberg (eds.) Conscription as Subject of National Security: Comparative Perspective in Europe at the Beginning of the ٢١st Century. Wiesbaden: Springer VS: 193–223: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-658-47545-1_10

Durkheim, Emile. 1964 [1893]. The Division of Labor in Society. New York: Free Press.

Flyghed, Janne. 2023. „Conscription Refusal as Political Resistance“, Journal of Resistance Studies 9 (1): 10–29. https://doi.org/10.63961/2025.182

Gavėnaitė, Aušra. 2008. „E. Durkheimo ir M. Foucault idėjos sintetinėje D. Garlando bausmės teorijoje“, Sociologija. Mintis ir veiksmas 2 (22): 124–138. https://doi.org/10.15388/SocMintVei.2008.2.6062

Granovetter, Mark. 1978. „Threshold Models of Collective Behavior“, American Journal of Sociology 83 (6): 1420–1443. https://doi.org/10.1086/226707

Yeo, Yezi. 2017. „The Good, the Bad, and the Forgiven: The Media Spectacle of South Korean Male Celebrities’ Compulsory Military Service“, Media, War & Conflict 10 (3): 293–313. https://doi.org/10.1177/1750635217694122

Inglehart, Ronald; Welzel, Christian. 2005. Modernization, Cultural Change, and Democracy: The Human Development Sequence. New York: Cambridge University Press. https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9780511790881

Jonsson, Emma; Salo, Mikael; Lillemäe, Eleri; Brundtland Steder, Frank; Ferst, Thomas; Kasearu, Kairi; Novagrockienė, Jūratė; Österberg, Johan; Sederholm, Teemu; Svensén, Stina; Szvircsev Tresch, Tibor; Truusa, Tiia-Triin. 2024. „Multifaceted Conscription: A Comparative Study of Six European Countries“, Scandinavian Journal of Military Studies 7 (1): 19–33. https://doi.org/10.31374/sjms.166

Kazlauskienė, Gerda. 2024. „Nuolatinės privalomosios pradinės karo tarnybos karių požiūris į grėsmes nacionaliniam saugumui ir tarnybos motyvaciją“, Viešoji politika ir administravimas 23 (1): 74–86. https://doi.org/10.5755/j01.ppaa.23.1.33680

Krašto apsaugos ministerija. 2024. „Šaukimo sistemos pertvarkymas“ (2024-06-13). Prieiga internetu: https://kam.lt/saukimo-sistemos-pertvarkymas/

Krašto apsaugos ministerija. 2020. „Sudaryti šauktinių sąrašai: tarp naujovių – sumažintas šaukimo amžius bei studentų įtraukimas į sąrašus“ (2020-01-09). Prieiga internetu: https://kam.lt/sudaryti-sauktiniu-sarasai-tarp-naujoviu-sumazintas-saukimo-amzius-bei-studentu-itraukimas-i-sarasus/

Kwon, Insook. 2013. „Gender, Feminism and Masculinity in Anti-Militarism: Focusing on the Conscientious Objection Movement in South Korea“, International Feminist Journal of Politics 15 (2): 213–233. https://doi.org/10.1080/14616742.2012.724209

Livio, Oren. 2012. „Avoidance of Military Service in Israel: Exploring the Role of Discourse“, Israel Studies Review 27 (1): 78–97. https://doi.org/10.3167/isr.2012.270105

Merton, Robert. 1997 [1938]. „Socialinė struktūra ir anomija“, Sociologija. Mintis ir veiksmas 1 (1): 66–84. https://doi.org/10.15388/SocMintVei.1997.1.6602

Perez, Merav; Sasson-Levy, Orna. 2015. „Avoiding Military Service in a Militaristic Society: A Chronicle of Resistance to Hegemonic Masculinity“, Peace & Change 40 (4): 462–488. https://doi.org/10.1111/pech.12143

Pocienė, Aušra. 2018. „Lietuvos jaunuolių pritraukimo į nuolatinę privalomąją pradinę karo tarnybą galimybės“, Lietuvos metinė strateginė apžvalga 16: 367–442.

Savicka, Aida. 2015. „Postmaterialiųjų vertybių raida netikrumo sąlygomis: Lietuvos atvejis“, Sociologija. Mintis ir veiksmas 2 (37): 106–119. https://doi.org/10.15388/SocMintVei.2015.2.9867

Schwartz, Shalom H. 1977. „Normative Influences on Altruism“, Advances in Experimental Social Psychology 10: 221–279. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0065-2601(08)60358-5

Sykes, Gresham M.; Matza, David. 1957. „Techniques of Neutralization: A Theory of Delinquency“, American Sociological Review 22 (6): 664–670. https://doi.org/10.2307/2089195

Vileikienė, Eglė; Pocienė, Aušra; Aleknevičienė, Jolanta. 2015. Motyvacija tarnauti Lietuvos kariuomenėje. Vilnius: Generolo Jono Žemaičio Lietuvos karo akademija.

Žiliukaitė, Rūta. ٢٠٠٧. „Vertybiniai pokyčiai Lietuvos visuomenėje: nuo tradicinių link sekuliarių-racionalių vertybių“, Sociologija. Mintis ir veiksmas 19: 116–130. https://doi.org/10.15388/SocMintVei.2007.1.6030

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

Downloads

Download data is not yet available.