ABSTRACT
This chapter is to take a renewed look at the relationship between national population pressure and the propensity to engage in international conflict. It concerned with both static and dynamic population pressure. The leading advocate of the school of thought that population increases are not dangerous for international peace is Julian Simon, who challenges the basic argument that population growth necessarily leads to resource scarcity. Lateral pressure within a state makes it likely to expand to where its economic or territorial aspirations collide with those of other pressured states, with international militarized conflict as the result. The group of studies linking population to international conflict relies extensively on military capability as either an intervening variable or as a prerequisite for the relationship. Finally, population and international conflict would benefit by exploring the interconnection of domestic and interstate conflict. With the democratic peace in particular, the domestic-international nexus has recently received renewed attention in the study of international relations.
