ABSTRACT
This entry examines the causes, consequences, and implications of population change with respect to politics and security. Demography is the study of population structure and change as a result of interaction effects among fertility, mortality, and immigration. Political demography is the study of how change in the size, distribution, and composition of population affects both politics and government. It examines communal relationships, political behavior, and social institutions as a process of change in demographic trends. This entry in particular discusses the distributive effects of resources and political power as a result of changing urban and rural, religious, regional, ethnic, elite, and cohort population subgroups, and their impact on domestic, regional, and global security environments. The entry concludes with implications for defense, international security, and strategic posture that future developments in population structure raise for the United States, NATO allies, and the rest of the world.
