RichardTogmanNationalizing Sex: Fertility, Fear, and PowerOxford: Oxford University Press, 2019. 285 p.

Abstract

This volume contains an interpretive synopsis of the population policies of national governments from the seventeenth century to the present. Separate chapters describe population policy in seventeenth and eighteenth century Europe, nineteenth century Europe, Europe during the first half of the twentieth century, the developing world in the period between 1945 and 1980, the developing world in the period 1980 to the present, Eastern Europe and the Soviet Union in the post-WWII period, and finally Europe and North America from 1980 to the present. The broad historical and geographic sweep sets this volume apart from most other past reviews of the population policies of nation states. The author selects five countries for extended treatment as case studies, each one considered in multiple historical periods (i.e. multiple chapters): China, France, Germany, India, and Russia. To provide a framework for evaluating population policies, the author identifies five “natalist discourses”: mercantilist, Malthusian, modernization, neo-mercantilist, and laissez-faire. These discourses range from strongly pro-natalist (mercantilist) to strongly anti-natalist (Malthusian). The author concludes that population policies typically are ineffective (and therefore wasteful), for the simple reason that reproductive age women and men resist the programs that implement the policies. This applies equally to, for example, the anti-natalist efforts in developing countries in the post-WWII decades and the pro-natalist efforts of European countries in recent decades. (The author does not cite prominent empirical evidence on the demographic impact of population policies and programs, including evidence published in this journal.) Exceptions to this generalization are the few instances of coercive programs instituted by strong states, most notably China's One Child Policy. The author wrestles with the puzzle of why ineffective population policies have been pursued in so many times and places. His explanation is that attachment to one or more of the “natalist discourses” has led to the mistaken belief that altering population growth rates will facilitate the attainment of political power and/or economic growth. Notes. Bibliography. Index.