Ma`rifat Farhangi Ejtemaei

Population has always been one of the most strategic components in shaping the destiny of societies. In addition to being influenced by various domestic variables—economic, security, political, cultural, social, and familial—demographic trends in today’s interconnected world are also affected by international factors and documents. Among the most influential international documents in the past half-century is the United States National Security Study Memorandum 200 (NSSM200), titled Implications of Worldwide Population Growth for U.S. Security and Overseas Interests, which was designed to manage global population growth in alignment with American interests and implemented across various countries. Using an analytical-descriptive method and using library resources, in this article we aim to analyze the role of this document in the process of population decline in the Islamic Republic of Iran and its transformation into a model of population decline at the global level. The findings indicate that the application of NSSM200’s framework within Iran’s structures and contexts—impacting scientific, economic, educational, health, and cultural policymaking and planning—has been one of the principal factors behind the sharp decline in Iran’s population growth.