Nationalists frame demographic fertility as a weapon for territorial control

Evidence

In nationalists’ minds, Sinhalese Buddhist fertility is connected to the unitary state: the more Buddhists there are, the easier it becomes to colonize non- Buddhist areas and prevent devolution of power to and autonomy for Tamils. One of the leading proponents of this strategy is Prime Minister Wickramanayaka, who has claimed that certain foreign powers are colluding with local groups to ensure the Sinhalese become a minority. He has argued that “the declining population is a serious threat to the country’s unitary status” (Jayasinghe 2006). Extremist nationalist monks have also urged Buddhists to have more children, with the late Gangodawila Soma Thera encouraging Buddhists to avoid contraceptives and out-breed the supposedly more philoprogenitive minorities. — Neil DeVotta, Sinhalese Buddhist Nationalist Ideology, 289

Categorization

• XREF: Connects to demographic-fertility-wars literatures (e.g., ‘the demographic weapon’ in Israel/Palestine, Northern Ireland ‘the population the ballot and the bomb’) — manufacturing threats through a demographic-apocalypse frame. — connects to: War serves demographic goals even when militarily unwinnable — Neil DeVotta, Sinhalese Buddhist Nationalist…, 269; White nationalists frame Muslim fertility and migration as demographic weapons against the West — Margaret Hodson, Baby Jihad, 21; White nationalists treat demographic change as externally imposed warfare. — Margaret Hodson, Baby Jihad, 53 (+3 more)
• QUESTION: Testable: does out-breeding rhetoric actually succeed in mobilizing higher birth rates, or does it just maintain group solidarity rhetoric?

Broader Connections

• White nationalists frame Muslim fertility and migration as demographic weapons against the West #exemplifies (0.95) — Margaret Hodson, Baby Jihad, 21
• I will then consider the demographic factors of fertility rates, age distribution, and migration. Much like conversion, white nationalists view high Muslim fertility rates as a form of jihad.… #expands (0.95)
• White nationalists treat demographic change as externally imposed warfare. #exemplifies (0.90) — Margaret Hodson, Baby Jihad, 53
• Nationalist demographic anxiety targets the ethnic minority despite lower population density there #exemplifies (0.85) — Neil DeVotta, Sinhalese Buddhist Nationalist Ideology, 292
• Unequal population growth between neighboring cultures generates adjustment and conflict pressures #complicates (0.70) — Samuel P. Huntington, The Clash of Civilizations and the…, 327