Population Policy in Sub-Saharan Africa: A Case of Both Normative and Coercive Ties to the World Polity

Robinson, Rachel Sullivan

doi:10.1007/s11113-014-9338-5

Cited by 19 publications

(10 citation statements)

References 52 publications

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“…Government involvement in matters of fertility has been, and still is in some countries, a controversial issue, whether considering low-fertility regions, such as Europe (cf. Teitelbaum and Winter (1998), or high-fertility regions, as illustrated by Robinson (2015) and May (2017) for the case of sub-Saharan Africa. Nonetheless, given the importance of the societal consequences of population decline or excessive (global) population growth, population policy is like the proverbial 'elephant in the room'.…”

Section: Conclusion and Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

When is fertility too low or too high? Population policy preferences of demographers around the world

Dalen

Henkens

2020

Population Studies

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When does fertility in a country become so low or so high that a government needs to intervene? This paper sheds light on this population policy question, based on a worldwide survey among demographers. We examine how professionals' policy preferences regarding fertility levels are affected by their views on the impacts of population growth/decline and by fertility in their country of residence. The median respondent suggests intervention once fertility goes below 1.4 children or above 3.0. Three results stand out: first, demographers who are concerned about the carrying capacity of the earth are more willing to intervene than those who are less concerned. Second, the context of decision-making matters: experts living in high-fertility countries are more set on intervention than those living in low-fertility countries, but their threshold fertility level is also higher. Third, political orientation matters: right-leaning demographers are more set on government intervention than left-leaning demographers.

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Section: Conclusion and Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

When is fertility too low or too high? Population policy preferences of demographers around the world

Dalen

Henkens

2020

Population Studies

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“…One consequence, as Finnemore [ 15 ] and Meyer and colleagues [ 11 ] have pointed out, is to overlook the remarkable cross-national homogeneity that exists in the timing and the nature of adoption of policy on particular issues—evidence that forces external to the country are at work. The role of international actors in the spread of national population stabilization policies post-World War Two is an example [ 61 , 62 ]. International relations scholars, by contrast, often have concentrated on global policy dynamics to the neglect of the national.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

International norms and the politics of sexuality education in Nigeria

et al. 2018

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BackgroundProponents have promoted sexuality education as a means of empowering adolescents, yet it has been thwarted in many low and middle-income countries. Nigeria represents an exception. Despite social opposition, the government in 1999 unexpectedly approved sexuality education policy. Since then, implementation has advanced, although efficacy has differed across states. We draw on theory concerning international norm diffusion to understand Nigerian policy development.ResultsWe find that a confluence of international and national norms and interests shaped policy outcomes, including concern over HIV/AIDS. A central dynamic was an alliance of domestic NGOs and international donors pressing the Nigerian government to act.ConclusionsWe argue that theory on international norms can be applied to understand policy dynamics across a variety of health and population areas, finding value in approaches that integrate rather than juxtapose consideration of (1) international and national influences; (2) long and short-term perspectives on policy change; and (3) norms and interests.

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“…Mitchell and Schmitz, 37 examining transnational NGOs, link norms and resource-maximizing behavior through the concept of ‘principled instrumentalism.’ Robinson provides evidence that both ideational forces—the normative influence of NGOs—and material forces—a country’s indebtedness to the World Bank—are associated with a wave of national adoption of population policies in Sub-Saharan Africa in the 1980s and 1990s. 38 Finnemore and Sikkink, 10 although recognized as constructivists, reject the norms-interests division as simplistic, advancing the idea that much social change can be understood via processes of strategic social construction—actors instrumentally pursuing principled concerns to alter social reality. They make a call to scholars: “Instead of opposing instrumental rationality and social construction we need to find some way to link those processes theoretically” (p. 910).…”

Section: Interests and Ideasmentioning

confidence: 99%

Agency, Structure and the Power of Global Health Networks

Shiffman

2018

Int J Health Policy Manag

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Global health networks—webs of individuals and organizations linked by a shared concern for a particular condition—have proliferated over the past quarter century. In a recent editorial in this journal, I presented evidence that their effectiveness in addressing four challenges—problem definition, positioning, coalitionbuilding and governance—shapes their ability to influence policy. The editorial prompted five thoughtful commentaries that reflected on these and other challenges. In this follow-up editorial, I build on the commentaries to suggest ways of advancing research on global health networks. I argue that investigators would do well to consider three social theory-influenced global governance debates pertaining to agency—the capacity of individuals and organizations to act autonomously amidst structural constraints. The three debates concern the relationship between agency and structure, the power of ideas vis-à-vis interests and material capabilities, and the level of influence of non-state actors in a global governance system that most scholars identify as state-dominated. Drawing on these debates, I argue that rather than presume global health network influence, we need to find more robust ways to investigate their effects. I argue also that rather than juxtapose agency and structure, ideas and interests and non-state and state power, it would be more productive to consider the ways in which these elements are intertwined.

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Population Policy in Sub-Saharan Africa: A Case of Both Normative and Coercive Ties to the World Polity

Cited by 19 publications

References 52 publications

When is fertility too low or too high? Population policy preferences of demographers around the world

When is fertility too low or too high? Population policy preferences of demographers around the world

International norms and the politics of sexuality education in Nigeria

Agency, Structure and the Power of Global Health Networks

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