Dennis Hogan Weeam Hammoudeh Brown University
How are reproductive decisions and behavior impacted by larger socioeconomic changes and state policies on fertility behavior within the context of ongoing national conflict? This study examines ways in which institutional transformations at the national and local level impact the social processes of reproduction and family formation both at the level of social group and over the individual life course. The researchers will study the case of Palestine, focusing on how the creation and evolution of the Palestinian quasi-state and socioeconomic change in these areas affect reproduction. While exceptionally high Palestinian fertility has been featured prominently in the academic literature and news press, dramatic drops in fertility have been noted in the state building era, which was ushered in by the signing of the Oslo peace accords. This project focuses on the relationship between state building and reproductive practices in the occupied Palestinian territory. The study addresses the changing conditions of social and civic life for citizens in the state-building era and the impact of these on reproduction and family formation, social processes embedded in a unique context. Through illuminating the link between state building and reproductive practices, the research contributes more broadly to understanding of family formation and reproduction and how national transformations and reproduction are connected.
The researchers employ a two-staged mixed-methods approach that includes secondary analysis of regional and sub-regional fertility rates, and a comparative ethnography. Secondary quantitative data from a variety of sources will be analyzed in order to provide a macro-level portrait of fertility trends over time as well as to analyze changes in fertility trends and structural and population characteristics on the reproductive practices Through comparative ethnography, the projects goes beyond an examination of reproductive outcomes and towards an understanding of the lived experience, meanings attached to reproduction, and the mechanisms by which social and national transformations impact reproductive practices. This project expands demographic theory of fertility behavior and develops a conceptual framework for understanding fertility behavior within the context of conflict settings.
Broader Impacts
The study generates information on reproductive health care delivery that has policy implications on reproductive health provisions and needs in nations with ongoing conflicts. The project will combine various datasets linking demographic and health data with economic and geographic data allowing for richer analyses of demographic and health outcomes. The project will also expand collaborations between Palestinian researchers and US counterparts.
