In this article, Isabelle Frens, Jelle van Buuren and Edwin Bakker aim to understand anti-government protests by focusing on empty signifiers.

Ineke Smit defended her thesis on 17 September 2019

How do old and new Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) relate to new social and political movements in Central Africa? What does this tell us about Africa and the Information Age?

In 1968 Japan was shocked by student protests and even today, exactly fifty years later, their effects can still be felt. An interdisciplinary group of researchers recently met to discuss them at Leiden University.

Today’s protest at the University’s Academy Building and the Hortus botanicus ended at around 16.30. The dozens of demonstrators left the grounds voluntarily after the university summoned them to leave.

Students and staff from Leiden University are protesting in The Hague on 25 November against the billions in cuts to higher education. ‘The cuts are a terrible idea and we want to show why’, says Claire Weeda from WOinActie. ‘Research and teaching are essential to society.’

Rector Magnificus Carel Stolker expressed his support in the media for 'The Real Opening,' the protest against government cuts. 'The plans are a disaster for higher education.' Professor Remco Breuker, one of the organisers of this protest on 2 September, called in NRC Handelsblad for a stop to the…

Mariska Jung, Jasmijn Rana and Looi van Kessel receive a €10,000 KIEM grant for

Over 20,000 students, lecturers, administrators, support staff and many others protested on 25 November against the plans to make billions of cuts to higher education. Students and staff from Leiden University also travelled to The Hague to voice their objections to the disastrous plans.

What can we learn from Cleveringa’s courageous protest speech? ‘Without imagination and a strong community, people do not stand up for one another,' says Cleveringa Professor Michael Ignatieff in his lecture on 26 November.

Not one but two openings: the minister who defended her plans and many who emphasised the importance of standing together with the arts and social sciences: the opening of academic year 2019-2020 in Leiden was not without event.

Debate

Lecture, Research Seminar

Bas Rietjens and his colleagues researched the Russia-Ukraine war, exploring this multitude of facets and their interconnections.

This book examines how renewed forms of artistic activism were developed in the wake of the neoliberal repression since the 1980s.

The oldest university in the Netherlands was founded on 8 February 1575 in the Pieterskerk in Leiden. This was at the time of the Eighty Years’ War with the uprising of the northern provinces against domination by the Spanish.

Study information, Student for a Day

This book reveals how one publishing firm's editorial strategy helped to legitimate European colonialism in the early modern era.

The Indonesian Experience after the Fall of Suharto

A Persistent Revolution: History, Nationalism, and Politics in Mexico since 1968

The acquisition and administration of the possessions of the “Teutonic House” in Utrecht, and its dependencies, in the Middle Ages until c.1600.

Research in Leiden University’s Institute of Political Science focuses on the dynamics and the interaction of political institutions, individual decision-making, and collective behaviour.

Over the past 40 days people in Bulgaria been demonstrating against the deep-rooted corruption in the country. The anger of the protesters is directed predominantly at the government of Prime Minister Borisov. But not all arrows are aimed at their own leaders, some are also pointing towards Brussels.…

Alternative demonstrations were held in Leiden and The Hague on Thursday 14 November after the national protest in Utrecht was cancelled. Leiden University supports these protests, which were organised by WOinActie. Read our live blog of the demonstrations.

In the logic and aesthetics of a republican baroque the existing world is the result of a moment in which for a split second two or more realities are equally real and after which only a singular one becomes actualized.

The world is in turmoil. International wars and conflicts have been raging for some time. And political and social developments are causing insecurity, uncertainty and unrest. This has not gone unnoticed within our university community. We have seen protests, demonstrations and other incidents. This…

George Floyd's death still leads to fierce protests against police violence and racism on a daily basis in the United States and abroad. We asked Paul Wouters how he experiences these developments and what this will mean for our faculty.

Maria Boletsi has received a fellowship from the Netherlands Institute for Advanced Study (NIAS) within the framework of the Theme Group Project The Politics of (De)familiarization: The Common and the Strange in Contemporary Europe.

During the online panel discussion ‘Het spel en de macht’ (the game and the power) held on 9 March, six members of Leiden’s Centre for Dutch Politics and Governance (CNPB) discussed trends regarding the current and previous general elections. Will it be tense, this campaign? ‘Baudet probably still has…

This network brings together scholars whose work explores how contemporary frameworks of crisis produce experiences of the present, rehash or disrupt established narratives of the past, and broker specific outlooks on the future. We collaborate in studying these crisis-scapes and exploring how they…

A group of confidants including a former student of Meijers managed to avert his deportation to a death camp. In her lecture on 27 November, Cleveringa Professor Marjan Schwegman revealed the history of the persecution of the Jewish Professor Eduard Meijers.

On May 20th, Joost de Moor took part in a panel that examined what is (not) unique about the recent waves of climate mobilization, as well as the question of engagement with or opposition to formal global sustainability governance institutions.

Through each individual decision, however small, people make history. This is what historian Katja Happe said in the Cleveringa Lecture on 26 November. She illustrated this with individual reactions to the persecution of Jews during the Second World War.

Our motto is Praesidium Libertatis, or ‘bastion of liberty’. How did it come into existence, and in what way is Leiden University staying true to its meaning? Five questions about our motto.

With Ad Putter, Sjoerd Levelt and Anne-Louise Avery. Based on William Caxton’s bestselling 1481 English translation of the Middle Dutch, but expanded with new interpretations, innovative language and characterisation, this edition is an imaginative retelling of the Reynard story. With its themes…

The refugee crisis and terror threats call for better European cooperation, was the message from Piet Hein Donner in his Cleveringa lecture on 26 November in the Academy Building. ‘Opting for an open and pluriform community takes courage.’

We talked to Hester Bijl about the worldwide protests sparked off by the death of George Floyd. A demonstration against racism will also be held in Leiden on 14 June. How does she, as Vice-Rector responsible for diversity and inclusion, view this issue? What steps is the University taking? And how can…

Museum De Lakenhal issued an open call for creative solutions to the problem of growth addiction. From over 500 submissions, they selected 15 artworks for the exhibition 'If things grow wrong'. These include the creations of Leiden researchers Peter van der Putten and Evert Jan van Leeuwen.

Politicians in The Hague were in for an unpleasant surprise when the interview with CDA politician, and also current Dutch Foreign Affairs Minister, Wopke Hoekstra was published. Especially Hoekstra’s suggestion to let go of the Government’s target to reduce the amount of nitrogen by 2030 raised some…

The Hague Journal of Diplomacy is delighted to announce it will be starting its own podcast series! The series will be aimed at bringing the themes of the journal’s research off the page, and onto the discussion table. Each episode will feature a guest who will share their insights and personal experience…

In Indonesië zijn studenten massaal in opstand gekomen tegen de regering, die vlak voordat er straks een nieuw parlement aantreedt, nog snel een aantal nieuwe wetten wil doorvoeren.

President Zelensky of Ukraine has asked the UN International Court of Justice to issue an urgent order to stop Russian military activity in his country. According to Zelensky, Russia has twisted the concept of genocide to justify aggression.

On Saturday November 16 Alice Twemlow was awarded the Simon Mari Pruys prize for design criticism for her essay ‘Conflicting Definitions of Key Terms’.

All Leiden alumni, students and anyone else who might be interested is welcome to attend the online Cleveringa Meeting in Leiden on Wednesday 25 November entitled 'The Corrosion of International Relations'.

A group of over a hundred pro-Palestine demonstrators gathered in the Wijnhaven building on Campus The Hague at around 13.00 hrs on Tuesday 6 May. They chanted slogans and hung up banners. The majority of the demonstrators left the building after a short while, but a small number refused to leave.

The Faculty of Humanities offers an inspiring international working environment with room for diversity and innovation to staff and students from home and abroad.

The conflict between Israel and Hamas has had a clear impact on Leiden University. Students and staff are angry or scared, feel unsafe and are experiencing group pressure.

Free childcare: Professor Egbert Jongen sees the potential drawbacks. The allocated budget could be used more effectively, for one thing. He discusses this issue at length with Geert de Wit in Dutch financial newspaper ‘Het Financieele Dagblad’.