Disciplining births: population research and politics in communist Romania

ABSTRACT

The present article explores some aspects of the demographic knowledge production in postwar Romania, focusing on the way in which the question of the decrease of birth-rates was used as a tool to promote the (re)institutionalization of demographic research. I examine the role various experts working in population research played in the emergence of a pronatalist agenda during the 1960s and how they used it to promote their own professional goals. I focus on various researches dealing with the evolution of birth-rates and postwar reproductive behavior and different solutions meant to increase birth-rates proposed during the 1960s in Romania, and contextualize them in the larger context of the development of demographic research in 20th century Romania. Population researchers in communist Romania managed to promote their professional agenda, built around the fears of population decline they promoted in the public sphere. They succeeded in promoting the creation of a central institution for demographic research (the National Commission of Demography), building some infrastructure of demographic education (CEDOR), and becoming actively involved in international networks of demographic knowledge production. I argue that population researchers’ worries related to the decrease of birth-rates were an expression of a general pro-populationist attitude rooted in both the discipline’s interwar heritage and in the Marxist ideology of the day. The development of demo-economics, and the importance assigned in reproductive research to the social and economic conditions of reproductive behavior were also expressions of the growing influence of Marxism in social research. Thus, starting with the 1960s, the pro-populationist attitude professed by Romanian populations researchers before World War II was successfully rewritten in different ideological and political contexts.

KEYWORDS:

• Demography
• Romania
• knowledge production
• development
• communism

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author.

Notes

1 National Archives of Romania, Headquarters, Bucharest. Fund Sabin Manuilă, file XII. 103, “Spre 20 de milioane de locuitori [Towards 20 million inhabitants] by Sabin Manuilă”, f.3.

2 “Spre 20 de milioane de locuitori [Towards 20 million inhabitants] by Sabin Manuilă”, f.5.

3 Ministry of Health Archives, Bucharest, Fund Cabinet 1, file 69/1966, unnumbered, „Unele probleme privind dinamica sporului natural al populaţiei din Republica Socialistă Romania [Some problems regarding the population growth dynamics in the Socialist Republic of Romania], 1965”, “Studiu privind situaţia natalităţii în RSR,[Study regarding the natality situation in the Socialist Republic of Romania], 1966a”; “Propuneri de măsuri privind redresarea natalităţii [Proposals regarding birth-rates recovery], 1966a”;

National Archives of Romania, Headquarters, Bucharest. Fund CC al PCR-Cancelarie, file nr. 101/1966, ff. 102–113:,“Studiu privind situația natalității din RSR [Study regarding the natality situation from the Socialist Republic of Romania], 1966b”, ff. 114–125fv: “Propuneri de măsuri pentru redresarea natalității în țara noastră [Proposals regarding birth-rates recovery in our country], 1966b”.

4 “Unele probleme privind dinamica sporului natural al populaţiei din Republica Socialistă Romania [Some problems regarding the population growth dynamics in the Socialist Republic of Romania], 1965”, p.14;“Studiu privind situația natalității din RSR [Study regarding the natality situation from the Socialist Republic of Romania], 1966b”, 107 v.

5 “Studiu privind situaţia natalităţii în RSR,[Study regarding the natality situation in the Socialist Republic of Romania], 1966a”, p.7.

6 “Unele probleme privind dinamica sporului natural al populaţiei din Republica Socialistă Romania [Some problems regarding the population growth dynamics in the Socialist Republic of Romania], 1965”, p23.

7 “Studiu privind situația natalității din RSR [Study regarding the natality situation from the Socialist Republic of Romania], 1966b”, f.110.

8 “Studiu privind situația natalității din RSR [Study regarding the natality situation from the Socialist Republic of Romania], 1966b”, f.110 v.

9 “Unele probleme privind dinamica sporului natural al populaţiei din Republica Socialistă Romania [Some problems regarding the population growth dynamics in the Socialist Republic of Romania], 1965”, pp. 24–25.

10 “Unele probleme privind dinamica sporului natural al populaţiei din Republica Socialistă Romania [Some problems regarding the population growth dynamics in the Socialist Republic of Romania], 1965”, p.11.

11 “Studiu privind situația natalității din RSR [Study regarding the natality situation from the Socialist Republic of Romania], 1966b”, f.105.

12 “Unele probleme privind dinamica sporului natural al populaţiei din Republica Socialistă Romania [Some problems regarding the population growth dynamics in the Socialist Republic of Romania], 1965”, p.8.

13 “Unele probleme privind dinamica sporului natural al populaţiei din Republica Socialistă Romania [Some problems regarding the population growth dynamics in the Socialist Republic of Romania], 1965”, p. 25.

14 “Unele probleme privind dinamica sporului natural al populaţiei din Republica Socialistă Romania [Some problems regarding the population growth dynamics in the Socialist Republic of Romania], 1965”, p.15

15 “Studiu privind situația natalității din RSR [Study regarding the natality situation from the Socialist Republic of Romania], 1966b”, f.107.

16 “Studiu privind situația natalității din RSR [Study regarding the natality situation from the Socialist Republic of Romania], 1966b”, f.107.

17 “Unele probleme privind dinamica sporului natural al populaţiei din Republica Socialistă Romania [Some problems regarding the population growth dynamics in the Socialist Republic of Romania], 1965”, p.29

18 “Studiu privind situația natalității din RSR [Study regarding the natality situation from the Socialist Republic of Romania], 1966b”, ff. 114–115 fv.

19 “Studiu privind situația natalității din RSR [Study regarding the natality situation from the Socialist Republic of Romania], 1966b”, f. 116.

20 “Propuneri de măsuri pentru redresarea natalității în țara noastră [Proposals regarding birth-rates recovery in our country], 1966b”, f. 118fv.

21 “Studiu privind situaţia natalităţii în RSR, [Study regarding the natality situation in the Socialist Republic of Romania], 1966a”, p.16.

22 “Propuneri de măsuri privind redresarea natalităţii [Proposals regarding birth-rates recovery], 1966a”, p. 2.

23 “Propuneri de măsuri privind redresarea natalităţii [Proposals regarding birth-rates recovery], 1966a”, pp. 1–4.

24 National Archives of Romania, Headquarters, Bucharest. Fund CC al PCR-Cancelarie, file nr. 101/1966, ff. 128–142, “Reglementarea întreruperilor de sarcină în R.S.R [Rules for intrerruption of pregnancy in Socialist Republic of Romania]”.

25 “Unele probleme privind dinamica sporului natural al populaţiei din Republica SocialistăRomania [Some problems regarding the population growth dynamics in the SocialistRepublic of Romania], 1965”, p. 34; “Propuneri de măsuri privind redresarea natalităţii [Proposals regarding birth-rates recovery], 1966a”, p.8; “Propuneri de măsuri pentru redresarea natalității în țara noastră [Proposals regarding birthrates recovery in our country], 1966b”, f.116.

26 National Archives of Romania, Headquarters, Bucharest. Fund CC al PCR-Cancelarie, file nr. 102/1966, ff. 1–26, “Stenograma ședinței CEX al CC al PCR din 2.08.1966 [The Stenograph of the meeting of Executive Committee of the Central Committee of the Romanian Communist Party]”, f.20.

27 Ministry of Health Archives, Bucharest.Fund Cabinet 1, file 25/1968, unnumbered, (1968). “Raport privind înființarea unui institut de demografie [Report regarding the necessity to establish an institute of demography] by G. Retegan”, p.3.

28 National Archives of Romania, Headquarters, Bucharest. Fund Consiliul de Stat al RSR-Decrete, file nr.218/1974, ff. 6–15 fv, “Acord între guvernul RSR și ONU privind înființarea unui Centru demografic la București” [Accord RSR – UNO regarding the establishement of a Center for Demographic Training at Bucharest].

29 “Acord între guvernul RSR și ONU privind înființarea unui Centru demografic la București” [Accord RSR – UNO regarding the establishement of a Center for Demographic Training at Bucharest]”, f. 7.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by the Unitatea Executiva pentru Finantarea Invatamantului Superior, a Cercetarii, Dezvoltarii si Inovarii [PN-III-P1-1.1-PD-2016-1720].