Gunnar Heinsohn
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Gunnar Heinsohn (born 1943 in Gdynia, Poland) is a German university professor who has published more that 400 scholarly articles and books. He has focused his research on the history and theory of civilization. Since 1984, he has been a tenured professor at the University of Bremen, where he heads the Raphael-Lemkin-Institute for Comparative Genocide Research.
He is known most widely for his theory of the Youth Bulge. He argues that an excess in especially young adult male population predictably leads to social unrest, war and terrorism, as the "third and fourth sons" that find no prestigious positions in their existing societies rationalize their impetus to compete by religion or political ideology. Heinsohn claims that most historical periods of social unrest lacking external triggers (such as rapid climatic changes or other catastrophic changes of the environment) and most genocides can be readily explained as a result of a built up youth bulge, including European colonialism, 20th century Fascism, and ongoing conflicts such as that in Darfur and terrorism.
[edit] See also
- Youth Bulge
- War (see section "demographic theories")
[edit] External links
- Raphael-Lemkin-Institute for Comparative Genocide Research at University of Bremen
- Bibilography 1969-2007 - lists Heinsohn´s publications in german and english, sorted by date
- Gunnar Heinsohn: Demography and War (brief outline of Heinsohn´s Youth Bulge Theory of social unrest)
- Gunnar Heinsohn: Population, Conquest and Terror in the 21st Century (Heinsohn applies his Youth Bulge Theory of social unrest to european imperialism as well as todays islamist terror)
- Söhne und Weltmacht (Sons and World Power) - Heinsohn´s 2003 book about the Youth Bulge Thesis as free downloadable E-Book (in german)
- Articles by Heinsohn available online (mostly in german)
- The Security Demographic: Population and Civil Conflict after the Cold War
- The "Youth Bulge" Anne Hendrixon criticizes Youth Bulge Theory
