The reproduction of national population is a theme, which appeared on the political and scientific agendas in Europe consolidated simultaneously with the formation of nation-states. In Slovenian political history it was at firstoutlined in the program of the United Slovenia in 1848, although in a specific way: in the forefront of the discussion on the future Slovenian national body was the perceived numerical smallness of Slovenians and consequently, the possible danger of assimilation. Since then, the notion had been permanently featured in all political and professional discourses on the renewal of national population. A somewhat surprising resurrection of this theme occurred in the last decade of previous century, in the period of establishing and carrying into effect the Slovenian independent statehood. In the article, the author discusses two issues: in the first part, the loci within the discourses on Slovenian nation-national population where the concern for the numerical and "quality" renewal was at the center are described. In the more extensive second part, the author focuses on media representations (especially daily press) of the debates on national populationin post-socialist Slovenia. The then revival of nearly two hundred years old notions on fertility in Slovenia is analyzed in some detail.
|