The purpose of the initiative is to establish Central Asian Studies at Leiden University. Central Asia is a region with fluid borders stretching into present-day Afghanistan, Russia, China, Mongolia, Iran and the Caucasus; a premodern highway of global interaction and today increasingly important as…

Book Launch

Starting April 2026, Niels van Willigen will join the Institute of Political Science at Leiden University’s Faculty of Social and Behavioural Sciences as Professor by Special Appointment in Strategic Studies. This appointment was made possible by the Atlantische Commissie, which established this chair…

Following Trump’s resounding victory over his Republican arch-rival in Iowa, it's clear that standing by passively and giving Biden the benefit of the doubt is not an option. Luuk van Middelaar, Professor of Foundations and Practice of the European Union and its Institutions, warns in his column in…

Debate

This volume is pubished in the IMISCOE-AUP Series and edited by Marlou Schrover and Deirdre M. Moloney.

The corona crisis is also a disinformation crisis for the global community in general, and for the European Union (EU) in particular. What is less clear is how adequate the EU’s response to the ‘infodemic’ has been. This essay exposes the dangers of disinformation for the EU, which have intensified…

The Central Asia Initiative is funded by the Leiden research profile area Asian Modernities and Traditions with the purpose to establish Central Asian Studies at Leiden University.

Jean Monnet Lecture

Where European integration has long been understood as a peace project, Joris Larik argued in his Havel-Cleveringa Lecture that recent developments point to an accelerated shift towards a European Union that places its interests, security and geopolitical position more centrally.

Vice-President Vance uitte bij zijn recente bezoek aan Groenland kritiek op Denemarken. Trump had eerder al afstand genomen van Europa. Luuk van Middelaar, hoogleraar Grondvesten van de Europese Unie, en oprichter van het Brussels Instituut voor geopolitiek, deed een analyse over de situatie in Nieu…

The International Relations and Diplomacy programme gives you a unique combination: a thorough academic education in international relations and political science with practice-based training in international negotiation and diplomacy.

Research on this theme addresses the systemic risks faced by European societies and affecting the quality of life of European citizens.

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

The scientific research of the Faculty of Governance and Global Affairs is organised around a number of centres and institutes in The Hague, city of peace, security and justice.

Conference

Postdoc Intigam Mamedov comments in The Conversation on the recent peace talks between Russia and the USA regarding the war in Ukraine.

Eighty years after its founding, the United Nations faces major challenges. Once established to prevent global conflict, the organisation now operates amid geopolitical tensions, prolonged wars and growing criticism. Joris Larik discusses this in Forbes.

Assistant professor Vincent Chang spoke in various media outlets about the Chinese commemoration of World War II.

In an article for The Conversation, University Lecturer Andrew Gawthorpe comments on the recent elections in the United States and what they mean for President Donald Trump’s position.

University Lecturer Andrew Gawthorpe provided commentary in several media outlets on the situation in Venezuela.

The White House has recently released its national security strategy. University Lecturer Andrew Gawthorpe explains in The Conversation what we can learn from the document.

University Lecturer Andrew Gawthorpe explains on France 24 how alleged fraud in Minnesota is being used by Trump as an argument to target Somalis.

In an article for East Asia Forum, University Lecturer Vincent Chang sheds light on China’s ambition to globalise its pantheon of national heroes.

University Lecturer Andrew Gawthorpe commented on the BBC regarding Donald Trump’s plans to exclude South Africa from the G20.

In an article for The Conversation, university lecturer Andrew Gawthorpe explains how the shooting of nurse Alex Pretti has affected the pro-gun lobby, the National Rifle Association (NRA).

French newspaper Libération has interviewed university lecturer Andrew Gawthorpe about the war in Iran.

Professor Wolff discusses the EU migration policy on Global Europe.

University lecturer Andrew Gawthorpe comments in an article on the Conversation on Trump’s attack on Iran.

University lecturer Andrew Gawthorpe comments on France24 on controversial USA ambassadors in Europe, all appointed by Trump.

University lecturer Andrew Gawthorpe comments in the Sydney Morning Herald on the possibility the USA have fewer munitions available for other conflict zones, such as Ukraine.

University lecturer Andrew Gawthorpe comments on The Conversation on Trump’s statement that the war in Iran will end ‘very soon’.

In this book, Vanessa Newby provides the first detailed examination of credibility’s essential place in peacekeeping.

Changing the world (a little bit)

This book questions the accepted origins of the field of International Relations (IR). Commonly understood to have emerged from the horrors of WW1 with the goal of bringing about world peace, the authors argue that on the contrary, IR came from a somewhat less noble tradition – that of the Round Tab…

LENS is engaged in the drawing up a cartography of the mediascape, past and present, researching the dispositifs and ecologies of image production and presentation, which stretch across diverse geo-political areas as well as institutional, discursive and technological fields.

Leiden University is an international, broad-based university. We distinguish five core domains for our research and teaching activities.

The debate in Europe about digital sovereignty, technological sovereignty, data sovereignty and strategic autonomy has been building over recent years at both the EU level and the level of individual Member States. The different concepts – and their diverse interpretations – cover the sovereignty concerns…

This paper, like the seminar on which it is based, considers how the governance of transnational critical information infrastructure (CII) could be approached at the global level. It suggests that when one is thinking about the (potential) governance of CII, it is important to recognise that not all…

Global Transformations and Governance Challenges (GTGC) at Leiden University aims to advance knowledge and practice on how we govern – and could govern – major world-scale changes in contemporary society. These global transformations include hegemonic and other geopolitical shifts, ecological changes,…

Caribbean archaeological heritage is threatened by natural impacts but also increasingly by economic developments, often resulting from the tourist industry. The continuous construction of specific projects for tourists, accompanied by illegal practices such as looting and sand mining, have major impacts…

The Global Transformations and Governance Challenges Programme hosts a range of international academic gatherings.

This edited volume explores how artificial intelligence (AI) is transforming international conflict in cyberspace.

Eva Michaels & Monika Sus examines European Strategic Autonomy (ESA) as the EU’s response to the fragmentation of the Liberal International Order.

On 29 april 2020, Beth Van Schaack defended her thesis 'Imagining Justice for Syria: Water Always Finds Its Way'. The doctoral research was supervised by Prof. C. Stahn.

The figure of the barbarian has captivated the Western imagination from Greek antiquity to the present. Since the 1990s, the rhetoric of civilization versus barbarism has taken center stage in Western political rhetoric and the media. But how can the longevity and popularity of this opposition be accounted…