On Dec. 5, 2025, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz reached a significant milestone in his bid to build “Europe’s strongest conventional army”: Germany’s parliament passed a controversial bill requiring all German men to register for potential military service, which could become the first step toward reinstating a draft if volunteer numbers fall short. The breakthrough followed weeks of tense negotiations within Merz’s governing coalition, during which leading members accused one another of “torpedoing” the plan. In the end, Merz held his coalition together, and the law was approved by a margin of 323 to 272.The hard-won vote contrasted sharply with theThe post From Restraint to Readiness? Germany Considers Conscription appeared first on War on the Rocks.