Demodystopias: Narratives of ultra-low fertility in Asia

Abstract

The notion of ‘demodystopias’ describes the narratives through which ‘ultra-low fertility’ is depicted in demographic reports and public media in Asia. In this paper I document how demographic knowledge about population dynamics is being disseminated and mobilized to the lay public within four countries, China, Singapore, South Korea and Thailand. I outline the imaginaries of population evident in the media reports of demographic matters from 2018 to 2019 and the targeting of specific groups in the population for policy interventions. The definition of the ‘population problem’ is one of the burden of the ageing upon the economy and the lack of the reproduction of particular ethno-nationalist citizens. There is a need to critique the epistemological assumptions inherent in such representations and recognize the importance of examining how demographic knowledge, both among demographers and the lay public is being disseminated and understood.