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Barbarian hordes: the overpopulation scapegoat in international development discourse

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  • Robert Fletcher
  • Jan Breitling
  • Valerie Puleo

Abstract

Despite sustained critique of a neo-Malthusian focus on ‘overpopulation’, the issue continues to resurface regularly within international development discourse, particularly with respect to ‘sustainable’ development in relation to growing environmental security concerns. This suggests that the issue defies purely rational evaluation, operating on a deeper psychodynamic register. In this paper we therefore analyse the population question as a ‘scapegoat’, in the psychoanalytic sense of a fantasmatic construction concealing the gap between the symbolic order of international development and its persistent failure in practice. By conjuring the age-old image of animalistic barbarian hordes breeding inexorably and therefore overflowing their Third World confines to threaten the security – and enjoyment – of wealthier nations, the overpopulation bogeyman helps to displace attention from systemic issues within the political economy of development, namely, the futility of pursuing sustainable development within the context of a neoliberal capitalism that characteristically exacerbates both economic inequality and environmental degradation.

Suggested Citation

  • Robert Fletcher & Jan Breitling & Valerie Puleo, 2014. "Barbarian hordes: the overpopulation scapegoat in international development discourse," Third World Quarterly, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 35(7), pages 1195-1215, August.
    • Handle: RePEc:taf:ctwqxx:v:35:y:2014:i:7:p:1195-1215
    DOI: 10.1080/01436597.2014.926110
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    Cited by:

    1. David McCollum & Hebe Nicholson & Paula Duffy, 2021. "A place-based approach to population sustainability: Demographic and economic change at the local level in Fife, Scotland," Local Economy, London South Bank University, vol. 36(6), pages 505-523, September.
    2. Lucia Tamburino & Philip Cafaro & Giangiacomo Bravo, 2023. "An Analysis of Three Decades of Increasing Carbon Emissions: The Weight of the P Factor," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(4), pages 1-11, February.
    3. Haydn Washington & Helen Kopnina, 2022. "Discussing the Silence and Denial around Population Growth and Its Environmental Impact. How Do We Find Ways Forward?," World, MDPI, vol. 3(4), pages 1-19, December.
    4. Hafiz Syed Mohsin Abbas & Samreen Gillani & Saif Ullah & Muhammad Ahsan Ali Raza & Atta Ullah, 2020. "Nexus Between Governance and Socioeconomic Factors on Public Service Fragility in Asian Economies," Social Science Quarterly, Southwestern Social Science Association, vol. 101(5), pages 1850-1868, September.
    5. Helen Kopnina, 2017. "Sustainability: new strategic thinking for business," Environment, Development and Sustainability: A Multidisciplinary Approach to the Theory and Practice of Sustainable Development, Springer, vol. 19(1), pages 27-43, February.

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