Title: Talking about a revolution. The politics of population.

POPLINE Document Number: 108678

Author(s):

Curlin P

Source citation:

FREEDOM REVIEW, 1995 Sep-Oct;26(5):17-9.

Abstract:

5.7 billion people currently inhabit the Earth, but 100 million individuals are added each year. As population size increased over the past fifty years, there has been a range of political thinking, strategies, and policies to address the issue of and need for population stabilization. Governments have pursued either pro-natalist or anti-natalist policies depending upon their individual perceptions of what should be the ideal rate of domestic population growth. Women have been the primary targets of population policies, strategies, and programs. Women, however, have had only limited roles in making policy, with men holding the reins of power over whether and when women bear children. Much was changed at the 1994 International Conference on Population and Development (ICPD). For the first time, population stabilization went beyond family planning and was considered in the context of sustainable development. The 180 countries' representatives realized that only through the empowerment of women can economic development and population stabilization be realized, and worked out a plan to stabilize population. The author reviews some of the history of the population debate since the early 1960s, the role of nongovernmental organizations, and the program of action resulting from the 1994 ICPD.

Keywords:

Global
World Population Conferences
Political Factors
Population
Women's Status
Women in Development
UN
International Agencies
Organizations
Socioeconomic Factors
Economic Factors
Economic Development