Demography, Identity, and Putin’s War in Ukraine
How have dramatically falling birthrates driven Putin’s War in Ukraine? What role do they play in today’s anti-immigrant populism in Europe and in the United States? How do they shape the conflicts around identity politics? These will be the central questions in an event organized by WZB Berlin Social Science Center in cooperation with the American Academy in Berlin on April 14, 2026.
Stephen Holmes, Walter E. Meyer Professor of Law at New York University and currently Richard C. Holbrooke Fellow at the American Academy in Berlin, will present insights from his book project “Demography, Identity, and Putin’s War” and will show how demographic panic shapes political conflict and violence, migration debates, and the resurgence of identity politics in both domestic and international contexts. He will be joined by Michaela Kreyenfeld, Professor of Sociology at the Hertie School in Berlin, whose research focuses on demographic change, family dynamics, and social inequality, and by WZB President Nicola Fuchs-Schündeln, who has worked on questions of international labor markets and the impact of demographic changes on economic growth.
Panelists
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Nicola Fuchs-Schündeln, President of the WZB Berlin Social Science Center and Professor of Macroeconomics at Goethe University Frankfurt
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Stephen Holmes, Richard C. Holbrooke Fall 2026 Fellow of the American Academy in Berlin and Walter E. Meyer Professor of Law at New York University
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Michaela Kreyenfeld, Professor of Sociology at Hertie School in Berlin and Co-Director of the Einstein Center Population Diversity
The evening will be moderated by Michael Zürn, Director of the research unit Global Governance at the WZB Berlin Social Science Center and Professor of International Relations at the Free University Berlin.
The event will be followed by a light reception offering an opportunity for informal exchange.
Please note that the event will take place in English without a translation.
The data protection notice on photo and film recordings can be found here.
The venue is wheelchair accessible. Please let Christine Gutmann (christine.gutmann [at] wzb.eu) know if you need special assistance.