Articles by Rein Taagepera

August 12, 2025

World population boom and stall: have we been here before?

Rein Taagepera

As population growth slows, Miroslav Nemčok and Rein Taagepera draw on a striking demographic stall 2,000 years ago that preceded political fragmentation and imperial collapse. What does it mean for today’s institutions — and can modern states withstand the pressures of a post-growth world?

Rein Taagepera

Professor Emeritus, University of California, Irvine and University of Tartu, Estonia

Rein trained as a physicist (PhD), and has made major contributions to political science.

He won the Johan Skytte Prize in 2008 — the field’s most prestigious award — and the Karl Deutsch Award from the International Political Science Association in 2016.

Beyond academia, Taagepera received 23% of the vote in Estonia’s 1992 presidential election and served as founding dean of the University of Tartu’s Western-style School of Social Sciences.

In 2003, he was also the founding chair of a new political party, which later secured the prime minister’s post.

More People, Fewer States: The Past and Future of World Population and Empire Sizes
Cambridge University Press 2024, with Miroslav Nemčok

Predicting Party Size
Oxford University Press 2007

Making Social Sciences More Scientific
Oxford University Press 2008

Votes from Seats
Cambridge University Press 2017, with Matthew Shugart

The Loop

Cutting-edge analysis showcasing the work of the political science discipline at its best.