Draft evasion

Draft evasion is an intentional decision not to comply with the military conscription policies of one's nation. Such practices that do not involve law breaking or which are based on conscientious objection are sometimes referred to as "draft avoidance." Refusing to submit to the draft is considered a criminal offense in most countries where conscription is in effect.

Those who practice draft evasion are sometimes pejoratively referred to as "draft dodgers", a term which was made popular during the Vietnam War.

Draft evasion is distinct from desertion in that only an active member of a military service can become a deserter by absenting himself or herself from the army without receiving a valid leave of absence or discharge and without any intention of returning to the army.

It is possible to draw a contrast between draft evasion and draft avoidance. Just as tax avoidance is defined as reducing or eliminating one's tax liability through legal means, draft avoidance is the elimination or mitigation of a potential conscript's military service obligation through some lawful procedure. The Vietnam era version of Webster's Unabridged Dictionary (1968) simply defined draft dodger as "one who avoids military service" regardless how it was done. Some means of draft avoidance:

The term draft resister specifically refers to someone who explicitly refuses military service—simply attempting to flee the draft is draft evasion.

The distinction between "evasion" and "resistance" is strongly contested by James C. Scott, who argues that covert action is itself a form of resistance: "For many of the least privileged minorities and marginalized poor, open political action will hardly capture the bulk of political action.... The luxury of relatively safe, open political opposition is rare... So long as we confine our conception of the political to activity that is openly declared we are driven to conclude that subordinate groups essentially lack a political life.... To do so is to miss the immense terrain that lies between quiescence and [open] revolt and that, for better or worse, is the political environment of subject classes.... Each of the forms of disguised resistance... is the silent partner of a loud form of public resistance."

Draft dodging was also common in Australia during the Vietnam War, though locally it was known as Draft Resistance or active non-compliance, see conscription in Australia. There was a film made about a draft dodger in Australia during the later stages of the Vietnam War that is often shown as part of Australia's film heritage at Screen Sound Canberra.

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