Jennifer Dabbs Sciubba
Find me on the web, on Twitter @profsciubba, and on LinkedIn
About me:
As a political demographer, I am interested in understanding the impact of societal-level population changes on international and domestic politics, economics, and social relations. I teach a variety of courses at Rhodes, including Population & National Security and Global Ecopolitics, and especially enjoy helping students become better speakers and writers. I want students to understand how what we’re learning plays out in the real world, which they practice through exercises like policy memos.
Likewise, one of my goals is to produce policy relevant research. I served as the Demographics Consultant in the Office of the Secretary of Defense (Policy) in Arlington, VA, where I worked on population, environment, and energy issues from 2006-2007. Today, I get to share my research through my post as a Global Fellow with the Environmental Change and Security Program at the Wilson Center in Washington, DC, as a Senior Associate with CSIS, and as a member of the Council on Foreign Relations. I am also a member of the Board of Trustees for the Population Reference Bureau.
I have two forthcoming books: A Research Agenda for Political Demography, which I edited and which features some of the leading political demographers, and Everybody Counts: How Sex, Death, and Migration Shape Our World (W.W. Norton 2022). My first book was The Future Faces of War: Population and National Security (2011) and I have published chapters on political demography in Ageing Populations in Post-Industrial Democracies (ed. Vanhuysse and Goerres, Routledge, 2012) and Political Demography (ed. Goldstone, Kaufmann, and Toft, Paradigm Publishers, 2012). My research has appeared in International Interactions, International Area Studies Review, the Journal of Human Rights, and Orbis: A Journal of World Affairs, among others. Some of my opinion pieces have appeared in the LA Times, The Washington Post, The Huffington Post, and The New Security Beat blog produced by the Environmental Change and Security Program at the Wilson Center.
I received my Ph.D. and M.A. from the University of Maryland, where I was awarded a graduate fellowship with the Harrison Program on the Future Global Agenda. I received my B.A. from Agnes Scott College in Atlanta, GA (Phi Beta Kappa).
HONORS & GRANTS RECEIVED
Peter G. Peterson & Ford Foundation US2050 Grant for project: “The Role of Institutions in Shaping America’s Demographics” (Awarded April 2018, $36,000)
Policy Engagement Fellow, Bridging the Gap Program (April 2018 – March 2019)
Member, Council on Foreign Relations (since 2016)
Kiley Award for 2009 Best Feature Article from the National Defense University Foundation
Phi Beta Kappa, Beta of Georgia chapter, Agnes Scott College
Phi Alpha Theta, National Honor Society in History, Agnes Scott College
SELECTED PUBLICATIONS
Everybody Counts: How Sex, Death, and Migration Shape Our World. Under contract with W.W. Norton. (Expected publication March 2022.) (Korean, Chinese, and Japanese editions also contracted.)
A Research Agenda for Political Demography. Edited volume. In production with Edward Elgar. Expected publication Spring 2021.
“Population Aging as a Global Issue.” Oxford Research Encyclopedia, International Studies. Oxford University Press. (2020): 1-18, DOI: 10.1093/acrefore/9780190846626.013.559.
“Podcasting Politics in an Era of Fatigue.” PS: Political Science and Politics Vol 53. Issue 2 (2019): 9-10, DOI:10.1017/S1049096519001641.
“The Effect of Population Growth on the Environment: Evidence from European Regions.” European Journal of Population. Vol. 35. Issue 2 (2018): 379-402. With Hannes Weber.
“The Politics of Aging in Singapore and Taiwan.” Asian Survey. Vol. 57. Issue 4 (2017): 642-664. With Chien-Kai Chen.
“Demography.” In The SAGE Encyclopedia of War: Social Science Perspectives, ed. Paul Joseph. SAGE Publications, Inc. (2017).
“Willing and (Somewhat) Able: Japan’s Defense Strategy in a Graying Asia.” Georgetown Journal of Asian Affairs, Fall 2016.
Review of Is the Planet Full? Edited by Ian Goldin. In Global Environmental Politics 16:2 (2016).
“Securing Rights in the 21st Century: A Comparison of the Disability and Older Persons' Rights Conventions.” Journal of Human Rights. Vol. 15. Issue 4 (2015): 533-549.
“The Effect of Age Structure on the Abrogation of Military Alliances.” International Interactions. Vol. 41. Issue 2 (2015): 279-308. With TongFi Kim.
“Explaining the Timing and Support of the Campaign for a UN Convention on the Rights of Older People.” International Journal of Human Rights (2014) DOI:10.0180/13642987.2014.901311.
“Coffins Versus Cradles: Russian Population, Foreign Policy, and Power Transition Theory.” International Area Studies Review Vol. 7, No. 2 (2014): 205-221
“Framing and Power in Aging Advocacy.” Social Movement Studies Volume 13, Issue 4 (2013): 465-481.
The Future Faces of War: Population and National Security (Praeger/ABC-CLIO, 2011).
“Population and Environmental Security.” In Environmental Security: Approaches and Issues, edited by Rita Floyd and Richard Matthew. Abingdon: Routledge (2013). With Geoffrey Dabelko and Carolyn Lamere.
“Demography and Instability in the Developing World.” Orbis: A Journal of World Affairs, (Spring 2012).
“Rhetoric and Action on Aging in Germany, Italy, and Japan: Party Platforms and Labor Policies in the World’s Oldest Democracies.” In Ageing Populations in Postindustrial Democracies, edited by Pieter Vanhuysse and Achim Goerres. Abingdon: Routledge/ECPR European Political Science Series (2012).
“Population Aging and Power Transition Theory.” In Political Demography: Interests, Conflict and Institutions, edited by Jack Goldstone, Monica Duffy Toft, and Eric Kaufmann. Oxford University Press. (2012).
“Population in Defense Policy Planning.” Environmental Change and Security Program Report, Issue 13. Washington, DC: Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars (2009).
“The Defense Implications of Demographic Trends: Age Structure, Migration, and Urbanization.” Joint Force Quarterly Vol. 48 (1st quarter, January 2008).
MULTIMEDIA
Quote: Fox17 News Nashville, June 4, 2020
Audio: Appearance on Marketplace, NPR, May 17, 2018 (minute 1:10).
Video: Appearance on Behind the Headlines, WKNO-TV, March 9, 2018.
Video: Appearance on ABC Local 24 discussing immigration, February 6, 2018.
“Older, less fertile America needs immigration to stay competitive.” USA Today, February 2, 2018 (print and online).
“Make the world safer one condom at a time.” The Hill, November 9, 2017.
“Puerto Rico’s troubles are far from over. The population’s health is at risk.” Washington Post Monkey Cage, October 13, 2017 (online). With Jeremy Youde.
“Trump’s New Refugee Ceiling Endangers the U.S.” The Philadelphia Inquirer, October 4, 2017 (print and online).
“What the U.S. Really Needs is a Wall to Keep Immigrants IN.” L.A. Times, February 21, 2017 (print and online).
“The Dangerous Demography of Christmas.” Huffington Post, December 26, 2017
“Zika Virus Prompts El Salvador and Others to Discourage Pregnancy – What Are the Potential Consequences?” New Security Beat Blog, Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars, January 29, 2016.
“The Greek financial crisis is making its migration crisis worse. The E.U. must help.” The Washington Post, July 23, 2015.
Radio interview on China’s One Child Policy reforms, Daybreak Asia from Voice of America. November 2013.
“The Sun Hasn’t Set on China.” National Intelligence Council’s Global Trends 2030 blog, July 31, 2012 (and Huffington Post)
“Global Threats Exist, But Also Many Global Demographic Opportunities for the U.S.” Huffington Post, June 20, 2012.
“Family Planning Can Help in Afghanistan.” The Philadelphia Inquirer, September 6, 2011.
“The Middle East’s Demographic Destiny.” New Security Beat Blog, Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars, February 25, 2011.
“The Age of Revolution? Demography Experts Comment on Tunisia′s Shot at Democracy” January 2011
“Where Have All the Malthusians Gone?” November 2010
“Misguided Projections for Africa′s Fertility” August 2010 -
“Guest Contributor Jennifer Sciubba on Environment, Population in the 2008 National Defense Strategy”
VIDEO - “Strategies for Bridging Research and Policy in the Classroom: Teaching Environment, Population, Conflict, and Security.” February 17, 2010 at the International Studies Association conference, New Orleans, USA.
VIDEO - “Jennifer Dabbs Sciubba - Teaching Demography and Security Linkages”
VIDEO - “Jennifer Sciubba on Defense Policy Planning”
VIDEO - “Demography and Conflict: How Population Pressure and Youth Bulges Affect the Risk of Civil War”
Recent Presentations and Invited Talks
“Determining Demography Destiny in the 21st Century.” Presentation given February 23, 2017 at the International Studies Association Conference, Baltimore, MD, USA.
“Demographic Change in the 21st Century.” Presentation given May 2, 2016 at the Global Strategy Forum, Atlantic Council, Washington, DC.
“Quietly Into the Night? Russia’s Population Aging, Great Power Status, and the Future of Global Security.” Presentation given October 9, 2015 at the ISSS-ISAC Conference, Springfield, MA & March 19, 2016 at the International Studies Association Conference, Atlanta, GA, USA.
Invited talk, “Demographic Mobility and Change in Aging Europe to 2035.” Given July 17, 2015 to US State Department, National Intelligence Council, Washington, DC.
“The Politics of Population Aging in Singapore.” Presentation given February 19, 2015 at the International Studies Association Conference, New Orleans, LA, USA.
“System Adaptation and Overload in the Case of Population Aging.” Presentation given March 27, 2014 at the International Studies Association Conference, Toronto, Canada.
“Russian Youth Movements: Hope or Hype?” Paper presented December 13, 2013 at the First International Conference on Political Demography and Social Macro-Dynamics, Russian Presidential Academy of National Economy and Public Administration, Moscow.
Education
M.A., University of Maryland, College Park
B.A., Agnes Scott College
Also received training at the Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research in Rostock, Germany, and attended Bond University in Gold Coast, Australia.