How and why governments engage with civil society as well as how civil society organizes itself and exerts political influence constitute the key focus of the research programme Public Governance & Civil Society. As such, this research programme offers unique expertise within the field of public administration…

The States, Markets, and Civil Society department of the Institute of Public Administration examines how politics and governance, businesses, citizens, and societal organisations collaborate to address major societal challenges. This includes issues such as inequality, migration, and sustainability.

'The Routledge Handbook of Civil and Uncivil Society in Southeast Asia' explores the nature and implications of civil society across the region, engaging systematically with both theoretical approaches and empirical nuance for a systematic, comparative, and informative approach.

This project aims to provide evidence-based knowledge on the conditions for successful anti-corruption activism in Ukraine.

Do citizens care for interest representation? A study on citizens’ perceptions and feelings towards the representative potential of civil society

How and when do interest groups organise themselves as transmission belts and what are the implications for their political relevance among public officials involved decision-making processes?

The Department of Civil Law is responsible for education and research in the field of civil law. We teach the master’s degree programme Civiel Recht (Civil Law LL.M.), attracting many students each year from Leiden and elsewhere.

The section Civil Law provides education and research in the field of civil law.

The section Civil Procedure Law offers education in the bachelor and master fase of the Law program.

Civil Law is a specialisation of the master’s programme Rechtsgeleerdheid (Law) at the renowned Leiden Law School of Leiden University.

The MA Classics and Ancient Civilizations at Leiden University covers the entire range of present-day research on the civilizations of Egypt, Mesopotamia, Anatolia, Syria and Palestine, Greece and the Roman Empire. In chronological terms, the program covers thousands of years, from the early origins…

Why do some civil wars experience quagmire, a situation in which belligerents are trapped in fighting? To explain this puzzle, Jonah Schulhofer-Wohl (Leiden University Institute of Political Science) analyses the overlapping strategic interactions between foreign powers and the warring parties. Studying…

The Classics and Ancient Civilizations (Research) master's at Leiden University covers the entire range of present-day research on the civilisations of Greece and Rome, Egypt and the Ancient Near East.

Are you thinking about studying the Advanced LL.M. Civil and Commercial Law? Learn more and watch the videos.

Why do communities form militias to defend themselves against violence during civil war? Using original interviews with former combatants and civilians and archival material from extensive fieldwork in Mozambique, Corinna Jentzsch (Leiden University Institute of Political Science) explains the timing,…

On 18 April, Alexandre Tavadian defended the thesis 'The International Civil Service: Redefining Its Independence'. The doctoral research was supervised by Niels Blokker and Brian McGarry.

Leiden University’s Master of International Civil and Commercial Law (L.L.M.) examines the interrelated layers of hard law, soft law, and relevant case law.

On 17 December 2018, Dejian Kong defended his thesis 'Civil Liability for Damage caused by Global Navigation Satellite System'. The doctoral research was supervised by Prof. dr. P.M.J. Mendes de Leon.

Are you thinking about studying Classics and Ancient Civilizations? Learn more and watch the introduction video.

With regard to governance, policies and law, many Muslims and Muslim countries recognise the possibility that Islam has something important to say about the way society is to be ordered, governed, and regulated.

Political scientist Corinna Jentzsch (Leiden University) about the organisation of rebel and government auxiliaries in the civil war in Mozambique (1976–1992).

Governance is a complex puzzle of organisations, people and divergent interests. Academic research in this field furthers our knowledge of the role of public administrators, of different organisational structures, of the people who work at such organisations and of how these organisations implement…

On the occasion of the 80th anniversary of the magna carta of civil aviation, the Convention on International Civil Aviation (Chicago Convention 1944), Professor Steven Truxal has written a leading piece for the European Civil Aviation Conference: The Chicago system: a steadfast legal blueprint for…

Miriam Cohen defended her PhD dissertation entitled “Reparations for International Crimes and the development of a Civil Dimension of International Criminal Justice” on 28 June 2017. She wrote her thesis under the supervision of Professor L.J. van den Herik and Professor C. Stahn.

This project aims to explore, in general, what explains civil servants’ attitudes and behavior, and, in particular, why some civil servants are more committed to professional norms and public service values – such as impartiality, equity, efficiency, and innovation – than others.

Conference, Discussion

At Leiden University College (LUC), engagement with society is a core part of our research and teaching.

In this Yearbook you will find some fascinating examples of what was done in 2021, not only by ourselves, but also by our international colleagues.

What determines civic engagement in transboundary hydropolitics and why has it been muted in the Eastern Nile Basin?

Vanessa Mak is appointed Professor of Civil Law at Leiden University as of 1 October 2020. She will succeed Professor Jac. Hijma who is retiring.

In this Yearbook you will find some fascinating examples of what was done in 2021, not only by ourselves, but also by our international colleagues.

This book explores the reception of foreign news during the late sixteenth-century civil wars in France and the Netherlands.

How do you engage society to stop biodiversity loss? How do you create political and social involvement around climate change? And how do you balance the economic needs of the industry with the negative effects of pollution? If you find these kinds of questions interesting, then this Pre-University…

The main aim of this research is to understand the dynamics of identity within indigenous Caribbean communities as expressed through the practice of intentional cranial modification. A multidisciplinary approach will be applied to achieve this aim, combining current anthropological and sociological…

On 11 November 2022, a number of (internal and external) PhD candidates in the field of civil procedural law presented their research. The seminar took place in the building of the Supreme Court of the Netherlands.

A mere day after setting foot ashore in the Bahamas on October 13th 1492, Christopher Columbus notes the broad foreheads of the inhabitants of the Americas. These permanently altered cranial shapes are deliberately created through the application of pressure to the head of the infant in the first years…

The digitisation of society is a worldwide challenge. Not only are robots increasingly taking over human tasks, they are even beating the world champion at solving the most difficult brainteasers.

Our teaching responds to the questions and needs of society. During their studies, students can already have an impact on current social challenges, and gain knowledge and skills that will help them contribute to a better world once they graduate – as academic professionals and engaged citizens.