Article summary
This study asks how acute external threats affect public attitudes toward military service under authoritarian rule, using original survey data collected in Iran before and after the April 13, 2024 missile exchange with Israel. The article compares responses across the two periods to examine whether a geopolitical shock increases support for coercive mobilization and for expanding military roles across gender boundaries. The author frames the contribution as evidence about how external threats may legitimize coercion and reconfigure gendered citizenship in contexts of regime distrust.