Abstract
Reviewed by: Alexandra Barmpouti, Oxford Brookes University, UK
Alison Bashford sketches the trajectory of the ‘global population problem’ since the aftermath of the First World War until the end of the 1960s. Indeed, it was exactly during this period that demographers, politicians, historians, biologists and physicians were preoccupied with national and international population problems; such as overpopulation, migration, birth and death rates. The most renowned individual and collective studies and international conferences took place during this period.
‘The population problem’ is actually an ‘umbrella term’ which includes interrelated topics concerning the human, space and the environment. The author uncovers the non-evident relationship between binaries such as human and soil fertility; geopolitics and biopolitics; migration and anti-colonialism. The links and ways of linkage among them are wonderfully portrayed throughout the book. Some of the social and philosophical trends mentioned in the book, essential to the interpretation of population issues, were Malthusianism, eugenics, the Lebensraum idea, liberal internationalism, cosmopolitanism, anti-colonial nationalism, pacifist politics, environmentalism, and the green revolution.
War and conflict caused by overpopulation was a fear shared among the population experts of the twentieth century. At the same time, the management of populations’ distribution was a safeguard of peaceful relationships among states and international organizations. On the contrary, being a repercussion of population density; immigration became a topic of disagreement. Some argued that immigration should be free and limitless due to the alleged right to free mobility, while others argued that each country should manage its population according to its space and nutrition possibilities, so as to avoid mass population movements to other countries. Uncontrollable immigration of the ‘surplus population’ of a state was regarded as casus belli to their neighbouring countries.
It was after the Second World War that the birth control movement gained popularity, because population experts promoted birth control as the ‘stabilizer’ of national and international population quantity. Neo-Malthusian ‘population checks’ through birth control were to replace the previous ‘population checks’ by means of abortion and infanticide (229). Thus, the geopolitical problem of space limitation found the biopolitical solution of population control. As becomes clear in the book, sovereignty over land escalated into sovereignty over individuals.
Bashford demonstrates convincingly the inextricable link between biopolitics and geopolitics, natural history and human history, zoology and demography, ecology and economy or ‘human ecology’. The ‘struggle for room and food’ intermingled with the birth control movement, the latter being self-assessed as the only realistic solution to food scarcity. Neo-Malthusianism aimed at reducing populations’ quantity due to food crisis after the wars. Eugenics followed to secure populations’ quality in the context of the ‘population’s improvement’. Not least crucial was the US Marshall Plan’s assistance to the European impoverished lands, albeit deeply anti-Communist. The confrontation of hunger was gradually associated with reproductive health under the auspices of UN departments, such as the UN Population Division and UNESCO. The ‘Food and People’ project led by UNESCO and the FAO (Food and Agriculture Organization) was an excellent example of the transition from food supply to population control (268).
In her thorough and engaging analysis, Bashford brings into focus subjects about population quantity, density and quality, as well as population’s living space, mobility, reproduction and death rates, sovereignty over land, economy, and food supplies. Her meticulous study is analysed in four well-structured sections of the book: Part I ‘The Long Nineteenth Century’, Part II ‘The Politics of Earth’, Part III ‘The Politics of Life’, and Part IV ‘Between One World and Three Worlds’. This thoughtful thematic organization of the book allows the reader, on the one hand, to gain integrated knowledge on global population, and on the other hand, to clearly discern and evaluate its particular aspects. Furthermore, the ability of the author to keep the reader alert through her vivid writing is impressive for an academic work.
The book relies on extensive archival material, such as the Huxley Papers. Moreover, Bashford uses internationally acknowledged, ground-breaking works on population topics by authors, such as Alexander Carr-Saunders, Radhakamal Mukerjee, Kingsley Davis and George Knibbs. Prosopography is also indispensable to her work given that many of the scientific and social trends under examination were initiated and inspired by pioneers such as Julian Huxley and Warren Thomson. In her rich bibliography, she did not exclude contemporary thinkers, such as Matthew Connelly and Edmund Ramsden. As imagined, Bashford discusses the membership and outcomes of the world population conferences. In addition, she mentions the meetings of international associations such as the Malthusian League, the International Labor Organization, the Institute of Pacific Relations and the International Planned Parenthood Federation.
In conclusion, Bashford’s achievement in bringing together divergent topics concerning population into a holistic approach is remarkable. Global Population will appeal to a variety of scholars, ranging from political scientists to plant biologists, as well as the non-specialist reader. Despite the complexity of the topic, the book is so well written that it does not leave room for confusion or misinterpretations. I certainly recommend it.