Sweden has what’s known as “Totalförsvar” (Absolute Defense) - which is basically preparing society for war or severe crises (i.e. diaster relief). There are two layers to it:
- Military Defense: Which is managed by the Swedish Armed Forces dwelling more on protecting national borders (as in defending their own country), dettering attacks and conducting armed operations in cooperation with allies like NATO.
- Civil Defense: This involves all of society beyond the military. It ensures the survival of the population and continuity of essential services (i.e. healthcare, electricity, water, and telecommunications) even under severe stress or during war.
This is NOT the same type of draft that was once enforced in the US (i.e. Vietnam) where people are randomly selected via a draft lottery or fighting in a war distant from their own country under false pretenses from politicians or being brainwashed by propaganda. The thing is, can civil defense work in America if imposed towards the average joe?
Not discussing Vietnam including both Iraq & Afghanistan, rather what would be the public opinion if the same form of draft from Sweden were to be enacted in the US? (not to fight overseas, rather closer to a border guard but in the position of a soldier defending the country or being given duties equivalent to FEMA or any first responder).
To add to what others have pointed out, there’s also the fact that American unity is precarious. Most young Americans don’t really feel much sympathy for the institutional framework of the US, don’t have any incentive to maintain it, and lack any kind of unified social or cultural framework to form an attachment with. The problem with implementing something like Totalförsvar in the US is the fact that most Americans don’t actually like or want to protect their fellow Americans in this era. Why would young people want to participate in a civil or military defence schema to defend a paper-country that doesn’t benefit them in any coherent way? People absolutely will serve to protect their own clan or tribe, but the idea of sacrificing for the sake of “Those People” (for whatever flavour of “Those People” that individual resents the most) would create such a spectacular backlash any such proposal would be dead on arrival without some kind of massive financial incentive.
National Service schemes only work in the context of effective social welfare systems, and there’s nothing the US hates more than the idea of effective social welfare systems. Desperation is an essential part of their economy, as very few of their current crop of corporate “leaders” would be able to employ anyone at all if the alternative weren’t starving in the street.