Zeitschriftenartikel

Introduction: Demography and war – research on population and health in contexts of armed conflict [Editorial]

Korinek, K., Koning, S., Williams, N. E., Young, Y. M.

Population Research and Policy Review, 45:9, 1–15 (2026)

DOI:10.1007/s11113-025-09981-z

Open Access

Abstract

“Conflict is part of the human condition….” This statement by Randall (2005:192) in her contribution to the 2003 inaugural International Union for the Scientific Study of Population (IUSSP) working group on the Demography of Conflict and Violence establishes the exigency for making armed conflict “integral to all analysis and interpretation of demographic behavior.” We return to Randall two decades later, at a historical moment when conflict-related mortality is on the rise and displacement has surpassed levels not seen since World War II (Aas Rustad, 2024; Fransen & De Haas, 2022). We assert, again, the urgency of addressing armed conflict within the field of demography. This urgency stems, in part, from conflict’s pervasiveness, as a quarter to a third of countries worldwide have experienced armed conflict over the past three decades, such that an estimated 265 million women and 368 million children were living dangerously close (within 50 km) to conflict as of 2017 (Bendavid et al., 2021; Davies et al., 2023). Moreover, the methods and materials of demography can inform awareness of the far-reaching population and health consequences stemming from humanitarian emergencies, not only from wars that have rapt international attention, such as those in Ukraine and Gaza, but also those that garner far less attention, despite their violent and protracted nature, such as those in Yemen, Syria, Ethiopia, Colombia, Mexico, Haiti, Myanmar, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Somalia, Sudan, and elsewhere. The research presented in this special issue, although capturing only a fraction of the complex and heterogeneous armed conflicts in recent history, showcases a range of theoretical perspectives and methodologies for the scientific examination of the demographic, health, and behavioral implications of armed conflict.