How does the focus on human rights change the study of population governance? What if any new
insights perspectives and challenges do human rights bring to population policies? How if at
all can protection and respect for human rights be integrated with national and global
problems of population management? These questions are looming in light of contemporary
recognition that dealing with the world's population is an increasingly urgent challenging and
complex issue of global governance. Cutting across standard academic disciplines and often
challenging the divide between social theory and practice this collection brings together
contributions from experts in the area of population studies and human rights. Drawing upon
cases from different parts of the world (China India Tanzania Nigeria Germany Iran Cuba
Poland Israel Peru and Australia) the contributors address questions of the often strained
relationship between national population governance and global human rights discourses within
four mutually connected thematic clusters: global developments paradoxes of social engineering
religious and nationalist influences on reproduction and minority politics.
