The course provides the demographic foundation of the Euro-Mediterranean Studies major. While companion courses in the major address migration policy, the European neighbourhood, human rights regimes and Middle Eastern politics, this course equips students with the systematic demographic literacy that those courses presuppose but do not teach. Its instructional aim is to develop the population-based interpretive tools required to engage critically with Euro-Mediterranean dossiers in international institutions, diplomacy, NGOs and applied research. Demography shapes much of our world, and the contemporary Euro-Mediterranean area offers one of the most informative laboratories to observe this. The population dynamics of the wider Mediterranean — fertility transitions in the South and East, ageing in the North, transformations of age structures, mortality and health, urbanisation, climate-induced mobility, migration flows from Sub-Saharan Africa, refugee movements from the Middle East and the post-Soviet space — are central to the academic, political and public debate, and underpin policy questions on cooperation, security, governance, welfare sustainability and human rights. The course rests on three interconnected pillars announced by its title: demography, human rights and migration. Demography is treated as the foundational discipline, providing concepts, methods and data. Human rights are approached transversally and primarily in political terms — as a normative framework that interacts with population dynamics and shapes the governance of mobility — rather than as a self-standing legal field, which is the object of other courses in the major. Migration is examined as a structural phenomenon connecting demographic processes, political regimes and protection systems, with particular attention to the European, Mediterranean and African dimensions. The well-known saying attributed to Auguste Comte that "demography is destiny" must not be taken in a deterministic and absolute sense. Yet the demographic variable has contributed, together with others, to tracing the political, economic, social and cultural evolution of peoples, communities, states and geographical areas. Analysing population trends has become a substantial moment for interpreting the configuration of the world. The Euro-Mediterranean region in particular has witnessed and continues to undergo a real geo-demographic revolution characterised by asynchronous evolutionary phases that have heavily influenced — and will continue to influence — the definition of territorial structures, intergenerational equity, mobility regimes and rights frameworks. The course provides a broad outlook on these interconnections among demographic trends, political and socio-economic phenomena, and human rights frameworks. Sustainability, the Euro-Mediterranean area and Italy receive particular emphasis. The Euro-Mediterranean focus, however, is not pursued at the expense of the global comparative perspective: foundational lectures address world demographic processes, comparative cases (China, India, East Asia, the Americas, the post-Soviet space) and Sub-Saharan Africa as the demographic and migratory southern frontier of the Mediterranean system. The course converges in its concluding weeks on the Euro-Mediterranean demographic and migration system as the analytical destination of the whole programme.

Knowledge of basic statistical concepts is desirable. Familiarity with general international relations and contemporary history of the Euro-Mediterranean area, acquired through the foundational courses of the Master's Degree in International Relations, will support the analytical reading of demographic and migratory phenomena. No prior background in demography is required: the course is designed as an introduction to the discipline within the Euro-Mediterranean Studies major.

The course is designed as the demographic foundation of the Euro-Mediterranean Studies major. Unlike companion courses dealing with migration policy, neighbourhood policy or Middle Eastern politics, this course provides the systematic demographic literacy that those courses presuppose but do not teach. After foundational lectures on demographic theory and methods (Weeks 1–3) and on the demographic-political-environmental nexus (Weeks 4–5), the programme examines comparative perspectives on migration governance beyond the Euro-Mediterranean area (Week 6) and devotes sustained attention to Sub-Saharan Africa (Weeks 7–11), whose demographic and migratory trajectories increasingly shape the future of the Euro-Mediterranean region. The course converges in Week 12 on the Euro-Mediterranean demographic and migration system as the analytical destination of the whole programme, providing students with the population-based interpretive tools required to engage critically with Mediterranean dossiers in international institutions, diplomacy, NGOs and research.

The course is built around selected chapters from four reference textbooks, complemented by targeted academic articles and policy reports. All materials are made available to students through MyLuiss and Luiss Library institutional access; no textbook purchase is required. - Thomas, R.K. (2024), Demography: An Introduction to Population Studies, Cham, Springer (Springer Texts in Social Sciences); - Goerres, A. & Vanhuysse, P. (eds.) (2021), Global Political Demography: The Politics of Population Change, Cham, Palgrave Macmillan; - de Haas, H., Castles, S. & Miller, M.J. (2020), The Age of Migration: International Population Movements in the Modern World, 6th edition, New York, Guilford Press; - Odimegwu, C.O. & Adewoyin, Y. (eds.) (2022), The Routledge Handbook of African Demography, London, Routledge.

Teaching methods combine traditional lectures with interactive and student‑centred activities designed to foster critical thinking, applied skills and collaborative learning: - Lessons with the support of audio-visuals; - Lectures by external experts; - Case studies with the direct involvement of students; - Inquiry based learning; - Problem based learning; - Peer education; - Flipped classroom.

ATTENDANCE POLICY AND PARTICIPATION Attendance is mandatory and highly recommended for a full understanding of the complex geodemographic dynamics discussed in class. In line with the Luiss SMART educational model, students will be granted “Attending Student” status only if they register their presence via the Luiss App in at least 70% of the scheduled lessons. Loss of Status: Students who fail to reach the 70% attendance threshold will automatically lose their “Attending” status and will be reclassified as “Non-Compliant Students”. This status is irreversible and implies a transition to the single-session examination format. The 30% Allowance: The 30% margin of absence is specifically designed to cover all unforeseen circumstances, including health issues (medical certificates), authorized internships, or technical malfunctions of the app. No additional justifications or medical excuses will be processed beyond this threshold; once the 30% limit of total absences is reached, further absences will simply result in the loss of “Attending” status. App Malfunctions: In the event of a technical failure of the app, students must report to the Professor exclusively and immediately at the end of the session to sign a physical attendance sheet. Reports sent via email or at any time after leaving the classroom will not be considered valid ASSESSMENT METHODS Attending Students (Continuous Assessment) The final grade is a weighted average of two evaluation stages: - A presentation of a demographic challenge, group work (30%). This stage evaluates the ability to synthesize and apply concepts discussed during the first part of the course. This component is directly linked to the additional quantitative practice sessions delivered by a dedicated teaching assistant, who supports students in applying demographic methods and working with empirical data in preparation for the group presentation. - Final Exam (70%): Four open-ended questions covering the entire program, designed to verify the student’s ability to integrate the different parts of the course, apply the relevant theoretical and methodological tools to empirical cases, and articulate clear and well-argued answers consistent with the syllabus. The written exam will take place in presence, in the classroom, on a computer using a safe-exam browser. During the test, the consultation of any type of resource in any form (printed, digital or online) is strictly prohibited. The use of AI-based tools is also forbidden and will be promptly detected through dedicated software. The four open-ended questions require programme‑based, well‑argued answers that explicitly draw on the syllabus contents (readings, data, cases and analytical frameworks); detailed guidance on expected use of sources, citation standards and evaluation criteria is provided on the course MyLuiss page. Non-Attending Students (Single Session) Students in this category (including those who lost their attending status) are assessed via a two-component format conducted on the same day: - Final Written Test (70%): Four open-ended questions covering the entire program, formulated and evaluated according to the same criteria described for attending students above. - Oral Interview (30%): The individual written test will be followed by an oral interview, a comprehensive discussion to assess the student’s autonomous analytical capacity. The oral examination will cover the entire programme as defined in this syllabus and will be integrated by a set of additional readings specifically indicated on the MyLuiss platform.

- Active attendance at the course; - Quality and interest of the proposed research topic for the thesis.