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Nationalizing Sex explains how governments worldwide have tried to nationalize sex and harness procreation as a tool of the state. By using case studies from France, Germany, Russia, India, and China it examines how population emerged as an object of governance and how natalist policy has changed over time and place. Nationalizing Sex analyzes the origins, growth, and development of fertility as a national and international political issue, the riseand fall of the narratives used to ascribe meaning to natality, and the global proliferation of oddly similar policies adopted by widely dissimilar states. Ultimately, this book explains why government seeks to harness the womb as a state resource.
List of contents
- List of Images
- 1 Sex and the State
- 2 Cannon Fodder for the Crown (Europe 1600-1798)
- 3 To Breed or Not to Breed, That is the Question (Europe 1798-1870)
- 4 Populate or Perish (Europe 1870-1945)
- 5 How I Learned to Love the Bomb: The West Looks South (The West 1945-1980)
- 6 Challenging Hegemony, Competing for Truth
- 7 Enemy at the Gates: The Threat From Within (Developing World 1800-1980)
- 8 Socialism in the Bedroom: The Iron Womb Behind the Iron Curtain (Eastern Europe 1945-1991)
- 9 Babies Will Save Us: Back to the Bedroom (Developed World 1980-present)
- 10 Babies Hurt Development, Except When We're Modern (Developing World 1980-present)
- 11 Conclusion
- Bibliography
About the author
Dr. Richard Togman received his PhD from the University of British Columbia specializing in political demography. Having worked at institutions including the National Defense University, Canadian Armed Forces and the Chamber of Commerce, Dr. Togman brings a wealth of experience to this field. After publishing in a number of leading journals, Dr. Togman founded a company, Rent Panda, in the housing sector to capitalize on his unique insights into demography and population trends. Political Science at University of British Columbia.
Summary
Government sponsored breeding programs, medals of motherhood, forced abortions, and surgical sterilization on park benches--all of these policies have come out of government efforts to nationalize sex and harness procreation as a tool of the state.
Over 170 countries (or 85% of governments) worldwide have active policies designed to manipulate the fertility of their citizenry with the aim of influencing the rate of growth of their populations. While over 90% of least developed states are trying to combat population growth with policies designed to reduce fertility, over two-thirds of all developed countries are actively crafting legislation to increase their populations. Despite over a hundred years of relative failure and innumerable studies questioning the viability and utility of government attempts to manipulate the fertility rate of the population as a whole, the majority of governments worldwide continue to uphold and develop such policies. What drives government to try to control how many children people will have?
Nationalizing Sex traces why population emerged as an object of governance and how natalist policy has changed over time and place, using case studies from France, Germany, Russia, India, and China. It analyzes the origins, growth, and development of fertility as a national and international political issue, the rise and fall of the narratives used to ascribe meaning to natality, and the global proliferation of oddly similar policies adopted by widely dissimilar states. As importantly, it explains why, after hundreds of years, countries continue to pursue natalist policy even though it has been such a widespread failure.
Additional text
"How many people should a country have? And should that be a decision made by the state, or left to its citizens? This impressive history of population policies since the 17th century shows the remarkable degree to which all statesâmonarchies, communist, liberal democraciesâhave sought to shape the numbers of their citizens. Documenting how state policies have swung from pro-natal to anti-natal and back in historic waves, Togman shows how pervasive, yet often ineffective, these policies have been."-Jack A. Goldstone, Hazel Professor of Public Policy, George Mason University
