At the outset of Reza Shah’s modernization, conscription became central to supplying manpower for the Iranian Army. From its inception, it retained its compulsory and universal character. Given its pervasive impact on contemporary Iranian society, this study addresses the functions that mandatory military service served during the Pahlavi era. Employing a historical–analytical approach grounded in archival documents, the research finds that conscription played positive roles by supplying unpaid manpower to the army, transforming the traditional social order, and fostering a citizen–state relationship. The conscription system also aided the Pahlavi government in consolidating power and standardizing national identity; efforts at social integration, mobilizing male citizens for unpaid service, and stabilizing social order were integral to the political resocialization of the populace. However, these very measures generated adverse social effects—extensive state control over society, interference in family and kinship structures, and enforced compliance among youth—which ultimately widened the gap between state and society.