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Public Opinion Surveys on National Defence Willingness 2025–2028

Background

From the perspective of developing Estonia’s willingness to defend, it is important to understand the attitudes, awareness, and readiness of different target groups regarding national defence. This study focuses on four key groups: employers, parents, young people, and reservists. These groups have a direct impact on participation in national defence and the formation of defence willingness. Employers create the conditions for employees to contribute, parents influence the decisions of young people, young people themselves are future conscripts, and reservists form an essential part of national defence capability. Understanding their attitudes and readiness is necessary for designing informed and target group-specific activities.

Objective

The objective of the public opinion study on defence willingness is to conduct opinion polls and focus group studies over four years within four target groups.

  • The aim of the employers’ opinion poll is to assess employers’ awareness of opportunities to support national defence and their readiness to contribute to it.
  • The aim of the youth opinion poll is to map the awareness, attitudes, and perceptions of 15–19-year-olds regarding national defence issues.
  • The aim of the parents’ opinion poll is to understand parents’ attitudes toward their child’s conscription and the possible factors influencing their decision.
  • The aim of the reservists’ focus group study is to better understand the reasons why reservists do not participate in training exercises and to collect valuable feedback on how to improve the organisation and communication of such exercises in the future.

Methodology

The studies use both quantitative (surveys) and qualitative (focus group interviews) data collection and analysis methods.

Benefits

The results provide valuable insight into how different target groups view national defence and what their expectations and attitudes are. This allows for more precise planning of services related to defence and monitoring of results. 

Project Client: Estonian Ministry of Defence
Project Implementer: LevelLab
Study Duration: 2025-2028