The Program: “The Demographic Timing of Global Political Change” The changes we see occurring around the world have some of their roots in the changes in the population mix. Whether it’s the “Arab Spring”, the rise of populism in Eastern Europe or the migration crisis on our own border, each was and is being driven in part by the changes in the demographics of the affected populations. This presentation will look at trends and possible outcomes as time passes and population shifts occur.

Presenter: Richard Cincotta is a Wilson Center global fellow and director of the Global Political Demography Program at the Stimson Center in Washington, DC.

His research focuses on the influence of the demographic transition on political, institutional, and environmental conditions. He has served as the director of social science and demographic programs in the National Intelligence Council’s Long Range Analysis Unit and as a AAAS fellow in USAID’s Office of Population and Reproductive Health. His writing on demography has appeared in Foreign Policy, Current History, Nature, and Science, and he contributed to the National Intelligence Council’s Global Trends 2025 and 2030 reports.

Cincotta is trained as a population biologist and is a graduate of Syracuse University/SUNY College of ESF (BS) and Colorado State University (MS, PhD).