Read online - Reproductive States : Global Perspectives on the Invention and Implementation of Population Policy (2016, Paperback) TXT
9780199311088 English 0199311080 Nations and their Governments have always tried to control women's reproductive capacities, both those of their own citizens and those in countries and regions over which they held sway. China's "one child" policy represents one example, though history is filled with others. For years, and particularly during the cold war, the United States warned of a "population bomb" should unfettered reproduction be allowed in developing societies. The Soviet Union, on the other hand, rejected any such notion, arguing that it was a fallacy of capitalism. "Anti-" and "pro-natalist" tendencies thus became tools of state interests and were of course deeply political-and most often racial-reflecting ideology more than science. This book brings together works by experts from around the world, illuminating the reproductive politics of Brazil, China, Egypt, Germany, India, Iran, Japan, and Nigeria, as well as of course the USSR/Russia, and the United States. Surveying population policies from key countries on five continents, these experts show when and how some of the most populous countries in the world implemented state population policies in the 20th century-often in response to United Nations and American policy. Regardless of the type of government or its cultural history, many of these nations have developed similar policies to control their populations and attempt to combat social problems, such as poverty and hunger. The common denominator among all reproductive policies, however, has been the perception of women's bodies as a political resource. Interweaving biopolitics, gender studies, statecraft, and world systems, Reproductive States is the first book of its kind, both because of its global reach and its impressive scope, providing invaluable insight into the source of reproductive policies and their enduring legacies. Book jacket., Over the past hundred years, population policy has been a powerful tactic for achieving national goals. Whether the focus has been on increasing the birth rate to project strength and promote nation-building--as in Brazil in the 1960s, where the military government insisted that a "powerful nation meant a populous nation," -- or on limiting population through contraception and sterilization as a means of combatting overpopulation, poverty, and various other social ills, states have always used women's bodies as a political resource. In Reproductive States, a group of international scholars--specialists in population and reproductive politics of Japan, Germany, India, Egypt, Nigeria, China, Brazil, the Soviet Union/Russia, and the United States--explore the population politics, policies and practices adopted in these countries and offer reflections on the outcomes of those policies and their legacies. The essays in this volume focus on the context that stimulated nations to develop demographic imperatives regarding population size and "quality," and consider how those imperatives became unique sets of priorities and strategies. They also illuminate how these nations crafted their own policies and practices, often while responding to United Nations- and U.S.- driven population goals, tactics, and interventions. The global perspective of this volume shines light on national specificities, including change over time within a nation, while also capturing interconnections among various national politics and discourses, including evolving constructions of the key and complex concept of "overpopulation." The first volume to survey population policies from key countries on five continents and to interweave gender politics, reproductive rights, statecraft, and world systems, Reproductive States will be an essential work for scholars of anthropology, women and gender studies, feminist theory, and biopolitics., When it comes to government's role in personal matters such as family planning, most bristle at any interference from the State on how to exercise their reproductive rights. China's infamous "one child" policy is a well-known example of reproductive politics, but history is filled with otherexamples of governmental population control to advance its interests. Reproductive States is the first volume of a collection of case studies that explores when and how some of the most populous countries in the world invented and implemented state population policies in the 20th century.The authors, scholars specializing in reproductive politics, survey population policies from key countries on five continents to provide a global perspective. Regardless of the type of government or its cultural history, many of these countries have developed similar policies to control theirpopulations and attempt to combat social problems such as poverty and hunger. However, the common denominator is that states have used women's bodies as a political resource.Far from being just an overseas problem, this volume illustrates how other countries have developed their strategies in response to goals and tactics driven by the United Nations and the United States. Due to fears of a post-World War II "population bomb" and uncertainty of how to deal with theworld's poor after the Cold War, the U.S. and the Soviet Union led the charge among nations to devise strategies to control their populations, but in different ways. The U.S. and some European countries pressed the poor and ethnic minorities to limit reproduction. China's "one child" policy targetedall ranks of society, while Soviet women (who already had few rights) were under surveillance through state-planned services such as medical care and commodity distribution to detect pregnancy.Interweaving biopolitics, gender studies, statecraft, and world systems, Reproductive States offer reflections on the outcome of such policies and their legacies in our day.
9780199311088 English 0199311080 Nations and their Governments have always tried to control women's reproductive capacities, both those of their own citizens and those in countries and regions over which they held sway. China's "one child" policy represents one example, though history is filled with others. For years, and particularly during the cold war, the United States warned of a "population bomb" should unfettered reproduction be allowed in developing societies. The Soviet Union, on the other hand, rejected any such notion, arguing that it was a fallacy of capitalism. "Anti-" and "pro-natalist" tendencies thus became tools of state interests and were of course deeply political-and most often racial-reflecting ideology more than science. This book brings together works by experts from around the world, illuminating the reproductive politics of Brazil, China, Egypt, Germany, India, Iran, Japan, and Nigeria, as well as of course the USSR/Russia, and the United States. Surveying population policies from key countries on five continents, these experts show when and how some of the most populous countries in the world implemented state population policies in the 20th century-often in response to United Nations and American policy. Regardless of the type of government or its cultural history, many of these nations have developed similar policies to control their populations and attempt to combat social problems, such as poverty and hunger. The common denominator among all reproductive policies, however, has been the perception of women's bodies as a political resource. Interweaving biopolitics, gender studies, statecraft, and world systems, Reproductive States is the first book of its kind, both because of its global reach and its impressive scope, providing invaluable insight into the source of reproductive policies and their enduring legacies. Book jacket., Over the past hundred years, population policy has been a powerful tactic for achieving national goals. Whether the focus has been on increasing the birth rate to project strength and promote nation-building--as in Brazil in the 1960s, where the military government insisted that a "powerful nation meant a populous nation," -- or on limiting population through contraception and sterilization as a means of combatting overpopulation, poverty, and various other social ills, states have always used women's bodies as a political resource. In Reproductive States, a group of international scholars--specialists in population and reproductive politics of Japan, Germany, India, Egypt, Nigeria, China, Brazil, the Soviet Union/Russia, and the United States--explore the population politics, policies and practices adopted in these countries and offer reflections on the outcomes of those policies and their legacies. The essays in this volume focus on the context that stimulated nations to develop demographic imperatives regarding population size and "quality," and consider how those imperatives became unique sets of priorities and strategies. They also illuminate how these nations crafted their own policies and practices, often while responding to United Nations- and U.S.- driven population goals, tactics, and interventions. The global perspective of this volume shines light on national specificities, including change over time within a nation, while also capturing interconnections among various national politics and discourses, including evolving constructions of the key and complex concept of "overpopulation." The first volume to survey population policies from key countries on five continents and to interweave gender politics, reproductive rights, statecraft, and world systems, Reproductive States will be an essential work for scholars of anthropology, women and gender studies, feminist theory, and biopolitics., When it comes to government's role in personal matters such as family planning, most bristle at any interference from the State on how to exercise their reproductive rights. China's infamous "one child" policy is a well-known example of reproductive politics, but history is filled with otherexamples of governmental population control to advance its interests. Reproductive States is the first volume of a collection of case studies that explores when and how some of the most populous countries in the world invented and implemented state population policies in the 20th century.The authors, scholars specializing in reproductive politics, survey population policies from key countries on five continents to provide a global perspective. Regardless of the type of government or its cultural history, many of these countries have developed similar policies to control theirpopulations and attempt to combat social problems such as poverty and hunger. However, the common denominator is that states have used women's bodies as a political resource.Far from being just an overseas problem, this volume illustrates how other countries have developed their strategies in response to goals and tactics driven by the United Nations and the United States. Due to fears of a post-World War II "population bomb" and uncertainty of how to deal with theworld's poor after the Cold War, the U.S. and the Soviet Union led the charge among nations to devise strategies to control their populations, but in different ways. The U.S. and some European countries pressed the poor and ethnic minorities to limit reproduction. China's "one child" policy targetedall ranks of society, while Soviet women (who already had few rights) were under surveillance through state-planned services such as medical care and commodity distribution to detect pregnancy.Interweaving biopolitics, gender studies, statecraft, and world systems, Reproductive States offer reflections on the outcome of such policies and their legacies in our day.