Politics is about the authorised allocation of values: who gets what, when and how much? This question is relevant at many different levels, in many different places and in very different ways.

This dissertation offers a reconstruction of the propositional contents of the writings of Karl Popper, Leo Strauss, and Hannah Arendt while bringing these into discussion with their performative meanings, such as polemical forms of reasoning, analogical and metaphorical uses of language, and hidden…

The Institute of Political Science is a vibrant department with nearly 70 academic staff in Leiden and nearby The Hague.

Understanding the evolving landscape of extremism in the 21st century.

The European Council and the European Commission have a similar role in agenda setting. Both place issues on the EU agenda. However, these institutions have distinct designs. They have different political attributes (the European Council has considerably more political authority) and information-processing…

Profile Area Political Legitimacy, Leiden University

Under what circumstances do paramilitary groups limit their use of political violence? This article examines the use of political violence by the PIRA.

We are very happy to welcome you to spend the fall semester, spring semester or full academic year studying with us at the Institute of Political Science Leiden or campus The Hague. Here you will find practical information as an exchange student.

Are you thinking about studying Political Science? Watch the introduction video’s and learn more!

Both play and politics have the potential to create worlds in which new rules apply, meanings are created, and possibilities emerge for collaboration, strategy and creative solutions. In this sense, play and politics have always been very much alike. But what happens to this kinship in a post-digital…

In what ways do historical and current events affect how we should judge the legitimacy of political authorities?

This subproject offers a political and transnational perspective on the development and uses of public memories of the Revolt in the seventeenth century.

Leiden University takes part in several European research and education projects.

This paper, written by Silvia D'Amato & Andrea Terlizzi, investigates the extent to which the European Union is strategically engaging against terrorism.

This volume challenges the idea that the development of ‘democracy’ is a story of rise and progress at all. It is rather a story of continuous but never completely satisfying attempts of interpreting the rule of the people.

Hegemony and World Order explores a key question for our tumultuous times of multiple global crises.

This book is the first comparative study of estimative intelligence and strategic surprise in a European context, complementing and testing insights from previous studies centred on the United States. It does extensive empirical analysis of open-source material and interviews in relation to three cases…

Set up in 1991, this unique project aims to identify and describe the common lexical heritage of the most important Indo-European languages and language branches. The project has thus far resulted in twelve volumes published as The Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series (Brill, Leiden).

In the research project ‘Furthering public leadership’ the Leiden Leadership Centre collaborates with several public organisations in order to obtain academic insights on public leadership and to develop leadership in practice. This allows for evidence-based development of public leadership and direct…

The project examines the political conflict in the Red River Valley of Louisiana between the majority-black Republican Party and the overwhelmingly white Democratic Party by studying the composition and actions of each party.

This research cluster is a part of the Institute of Political Science’s research programme ‘Institutions, Decisions and Collective Behaviour’. Its members study the design and functioning of Dutch political institutions as well as attitudes and behaviour of political elites and citizens.

Choice is at the very heart of politics. War or peace, left or right, liberty or security, sovereignty or integration, consensus or conflict—choices matter. Choice is also key to your education. Choose an intellectually challenging programme in which you develop your knowledge and expertise in the study…

The aim of this project is to study what makes an act or form of violence a specifically political reality.

The Centre for Political Philosophy (CPP) at Leiden University is an interdisciplinary platform for political thought. It aims to bring together all those with an active interest in the field from different institutes, branches and fields of study at Leiden University.

Political and social implications of life in a digital age.

Our research deals with the deep history of Europe and Eurasia, from the inception of farming up until the beginning of the Roman Period. This was a period in which key developments took place that had a profound impact on European landscapes and society until the present day. Our research and teaching…

Combine the analytical tools of the Political Science discipline with an in-depth study of current politics in the Netherlands.

The specialisation Culture and Politics of the Master’s in International Relations at Leiden University encourages critical perspectives on complexities of culture as an inextricable part of global politics.

‘Internationale Politiek’ is a specialisation in the BSc programme in Political Sciences. It combinEs the core political science subjects with the study of international and global processes and institutions. This specialisation is partically taught in Dutch and based in Leiden.

Does a shared idea of the ‘public servant’ exist in Europe? Sager, Overeem, and others explore.

Politics and Aesthetics is one of the six research themes of the LUCAS Modern and Contemporary cluster.

As a Political Science student you will analyse political phenomena at a local, national and global level—covering a broad range of topics and applying state of the art methods. Your tutors are renown researchers in their field; Leiden is one of Europe’s oldest and highest ranking universities. Personal…

This research cluster is a part of the Institute of Political Science’s research programme ‘Institutions, Decisions and Collective Behaviour’. Its members focus on the democratic role of citizens and the representative links between voters and politicians.

The specialisation Global Political Economy of the master’s in International Relations at Leiden University provides you with a cutting-edge understanding of the world economy and its social and political foundations.

The three-year BSc programme ‘Politicologie’ introduces students to the key concepts and approaches of the Political Science discipline. It is based in the city of Leiden and taught primarily in Dutch .

What makes some international organisations more likely to succumb to crises where others manage to survive or even thrive? And what can international organisations do to become resilient and withstand existential challenges? Political Scientist Gisela Hirschmann (Leiden University) studied the example…

This master’s programme focuses on understanding the causes and consequences of armed conflict between states and within states. In addition, we explore whether and how local, national and international actors and institutions can forge cooperation, prevent political and armed conflict from emerging,…