There are growing voices in the media space proposing the recruitment of immigrants into European armies. Such ideas have recently appeared in the pages of Foreign Policy and in an analysis published by the African think tank the Institute for Security Studies (ISS). European countries, it is argued, could offer migrants citizenship in exchange for military service in their armed forces.
The influential magazine Foreign Policy published an article a few days ago with the telling headline “Migration Can Provide Manpower for European Defense”.
Adham Sahloul argues that European countries could offer migrants citizenship in exchange for serving in their armies. This, he claims, would address both migration challenges and demographic problems that are contributing to personnel shortages in Western European armed forces. Sahloul points out that recruitment levels are unsatisfactory in Germany, the United Kingdom, France, Italy, and the Netherlands, among others.
The author of the proposal, Adham Sahloul, is affiliated with the Center for a New American Security (CNAS), a think tank closely associated with the U.S. Democratic Party. Its members have frequently cooperated with Democratic U.S. presidents. Sahloul himself served as an adviser at the Department of Defense and at the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) during the presidency of Joe Biden.
African Volunteers in Europe’s Armies
Interestingly, a similar idea was recently presented by the South African think tank Institute for Security Studies (ISS). In an analysis by Jakkie Cilliers, it was argued that “from a labor market perspective, military recruitment increasingly reflects the same supply and demand dynamics that shape civilian migration”, and that “global demographic asymmetries between aging states and youthful populations are already stimulating new forms of security and defense cooperation”.
As an example, the analysis cites a treaty from October 2025 allowing citizens of Papua New Guinea to enlist in the Australian Defence Force.
“The age structure of Papua New Guinea resembles that of African countries, characterized by a large and growing youth population and high unemployment. This contrasts with the decline in the working-age population in Europe and Australia”, Cilliers argues.
He also notes that during the Thirty Years’ War (1618-1648), “foreign soldiers constituted an integral part of virtually all the warring armies”.
“What would happen if Europe concluded agreements with key African countries, offering training and equipment for several brigades to serve in its defense, with all the benefits this would bring to the volunteers? Units could rotate in and out and then return to Africa, where they could help enhance security in their home countries”, the author writes.