I came across an article about the Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan's desire for Turkish women to have more children. Turkey's birth rate has declined in recent years and Erdogan is not satisfied, "It's my right as president to say that it's beneficial that women give birth to at least three children".
Last year, Deputy Prime Minister Ali Babcan said "Population means power. Twenty-seven countries sit there at the table, but when Germany and France decide on something, those with populations of 1.5 million to 2 million like Estonia and Latvia are hardly having any say".
Being a young woman and having strong opinions regarding women's rights, I don't think he has the right to 'mandate' any sort of birth quota. While Turkey's PM does have the right to say it certainly, doesn't mean he should enforce this idea. "If [President Vladimir] Putin was able to say such a statement in Russia [telling women to have three or more children], why can't I say it in Turkey?"
As far as regarding having power in the EU, I'm not sure how population affects power there. I can't find a straight answer regarding that but from what I have found I can deduce that population does in fact equal power. Correct me if I'm incorrect.
This post was a bit different than usual. Just an interesting article that caught my eye. Let me know your thoughts.
This notion may hold true in the EU but perhaps not worldwide.....China, India etc. Compare military and economic power of U.S. vs. India.....more people/more power is not necessarily true.
ReplyDeleteMary,
ReplyDeleteYou have come across the very important topic of demographics! Power is about the ability to influence others. This can be done "softly", with incentives and persuasion, or in a coercive manner, with force or sanction, for example. Population is one element of national power; others include natural resources, geography, diplomatic/information, economic base, military capabilities, and so forth. All of these elements are interdependent. So for example, a young educated population is necessary to have a vibrant economy, but natural resources are important too. Without large population, a country cannot field large armies, but if the country is wealthy, it can purchase sophisticated weapons, for example.
Some countries with declining or static population growth -- as in Europe -- turn to immigration to boost the labor force, but this can be a mixed blessing. Immigration brings vibrant diversity, but also sometimes cultural clashes and burdens on social services. You may have observed some of the benefits and conundrums of immigration when you visited Paris.
It may be that the PM of Turkey is concerned that declining birth rates will either cause a decline in the economic base, or necessitate immigration. Having seen some of the problems that immigration has brought to Europe, he may feel that encouraging families to have more children is the way to keep Turkey "Turkish" and to keep the country on a path of sustainable development.
You may wish to compare his stance to China's one-child policy, in which very draconian measures were taken to slow population growth.
Thank you for this post!
Diana Dunham-Scott