The Volunteer or Resist: Case Studies in Contingent Consent

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Voluntary compliance by citizens with the laws and policies of the nation is fundamental to the stable functioning of democratic society. Although compliance can be produced in the short run by force, theory maintains that in the long run compliance must be voluntary if democratic institutions are to survive. This study examines the nature, extent, and determinants of voluntary or contingent compliance by comparing decisions to volunteer for military service with decisions to resistance military conscription. Two critical cases will be examined, the Irish in Britain during the late 19th and early 20th century and the French Canadians during this century. These cases will be used to test the hypothesis that voluntary compliance is possible only when institutional arrangements exists that provide information to the public so that government policies are perceived as fair and other citizens are perceived as doing their fair share. When completed this study will enhance our understanding of the circumstances under which citizens will voluntarily comply with government laws and policies. The findings should have implications not only for contemporary democracies such as the United States but for the many nations in Eastern Europe and the third world that are struggling to establish stable democratic rule.