Amanda Coakley

Much attention has been paid to the alarming statistics on population decline in Central Europe and the fears these numbers have provoked. Somewhat missing from the conversation is the impact of population decline on women. Pro-natalist policies in Poland and Hungary are an attempt to not only boost the population but ‘reinstate’ traditional family values that keep women in the home. Although the reasons for shrinking numbers are manyfold, illiberal governments cast much of the blame on women. This project examines how far these policies could go and investigates the movements trying to push back.

Eastern Europe is facing a demographic crisis as birth rates continue to fall and emigration continues. This hollowing out of proud nations is fuelling the nationalist politics that has engulfed much of the former Soviet bloc, while threatening to roll back the rights of women. "Europe's childless future" is an investigation into why this is happening and how it is changing the fabric of society.