University of Tasmania
Browse

File(s) under permanent embargo

'Hurtling down the track': the significance of Australian population debates in an era of anxiety'

journal contribution
posted on 2023-05-26, 09:39 authored by Jacobs, K
This article focuses on some of the fantasies underpinning contemporary politics and the way that these 'perform', in effect, to occlude more complex understandings. To develop my argument, I deploy a critical discourse analysis to consider the narratives used by politicians during the 2010 Australian Federal election campaign to galvanise popular support by raising the 'threat' posed by large-scale population growth. I argue that narratives framing 'population growth as unsustainable' have a resonance with sections of the electorate because they connect to a sense of unease about the present and the future. The vexed debates surrounding population size are indicative of anxieties that lie beneath the surface of political discourse.

History

Publication title

Journal of Sociology

Volume

online

Pagination

1-13

Publication status

  • Published

Repository Status

  • Restricted

Usage metrics

    University Of Tasmania

    Categories

    No categories selected

    Exports

    RefWorks
    BibTeX
    Ref. manager
    Endnote
    DataCite
    NLM
    DC