Looking for Political Demography: Population Excess, War and Migration in Somali Arenas of Socio-demographic Transitions

The article explores methodologies and perspectives for the construction of a non-deterministic political demography grounded on case-study analyses and on interdisciplinary collaboration, namely between demographers and anthropologists.It argues that a focus on transitions (demographic, mobility and socio-economic transitions) and on their interrelations could provide a bridge between the disciplines.On the one hand, this means developing context-specific analyses of life conjunctures, circumstantial social navigations, social becoming, with the goal of showing how specific demographic variables (fertility, reproductive choice, family seize) take shape within specific arenas of socio-demographic change.On the other hand, working between micro/macro perspectives and between disciplines also implies, for anthropology and social sciences, an increase in scale and a specific contextualisation, one that focuses on structural transitions and interconnects their multiple dimensions.This analytical framework is tested in the study of the socio-demographic consequences of war, protracted conflict, and displacement in Somalia and its diasporas.