YAL raises its voice on policy matters.

Think tanks have proliferated in most Western democracies over the past three decades and are often considered to be increasingly important actors in public policy. Still, their precise contribution to public policy remains contested.

How is Indian foreign policy made? This special issue of the journal India Review, edited by political scientists Nicolas Blarel (Leiden University) and Avinash Paliwal (SOAS University of London) features a number of interesting case studies that bridge the gap between Foreign Policy Analysis and India’s…

In the Public Administration specialisation in Policy, Governance and Organisation, you will analyse current issues such as the housing crisis, energy transition, and immigration. You will learn how policy is developed and how public organisations function from various perspectives.

This paper aims to understand the most common underlying problems causing strategic surprise in the context of the European Union.

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…

The Master’s specialisation in Sociology of Policy in Practice teaches you to think along with organisations to help them respond to the challenges they are facing in our global and quickly changing societies.

The International Institute of Air and Space Law’s (IIASL) Research in Aerospace Law & Policy series features early-stage research, policy analysis and position papers. Published work includes preliminary findings, policy recommendations and institutional reports through which the IIASL aims to inform…

Are you curious about how economics, law and governance shape our society? At Leiden University, you’ll explore financial systems, public administration, international relations and legal frameworks. From international law to public policy, from global diplomacy to financial regulation: you’ll learn…

Are you curious about how economics, law and governance shape our society? At Leiden University, you’ll explore financial systems, public administration, international relations and legal frameworks. From international law to public policy, from global diplomacy to financial regulation: you’ll learn…

While there is a general consensus on the need for climate action among elites and the public, the public overall willingness to pay for such efforts is much lower.

Are you curious about how economics, law and governance shape our society? At Leiden University, you’ll explore financial systems, public administration, international relations and legal frameworks. From international law to public policy, from global diplomacy to financial regulation: you’ll learn…

Are you curious about how economics, law and governance shape our society? At Leiden University, you’ll explore financial systems, public administration, international relations and legal frameworks. From international law to public policy, from global diplomacy to financial regulation: you’ll learn…

Researchers from the Institute of Public Administration study the mechanism of lobbying and influencing political parties and the behaviour of these parties to see how solutions are found to problems. This enables them to reach conclusions as to how best to effect changes in political focus and poli…

In this article, Martin Sievert and Jonas Bruder investigated whether and how administrative burdens influences citizens' perceptions of welfare policies and attitudes towards beneficiaries.

European countries struggling how to deal with the issue of returning foreign fighters, women and children from the Caliphate.

‘It became very clear that Brazilian legislative policy was frail, obsolete and unreliable,’ says Felipe de Paula. He defended his dissertation on the limits and possibilities of legislative policy in Brazil on Tuesday 27 March 2018.

This article describes that although the use of the concept of energy justice is new, normative interpretations have long been part of energy policy.

EU foreign policy has become increasingly politicised over the past years, amongst others as a consequence of the succession of crises. Crises may engender processes of crisis framing and contestation. This article focuses on how the policy demands being voiced in these processes of contestation are…

Diversity and inclusion are core values of Leiden University. Leiden University has committed itself to a policy that aims to become an inclusive community which enables all students and staff to feel valued and respected, and to develop their full potential. The Diversity & Inclusion Expertise Office…

Tax scandals, like the Panama Papers, the Paradise Papers, and the Pandora Papers, have made taxation a major topic of public debate. Learn more about this in the new minor Tax and Society: Building a Sustainable and Fair Tax System.

The Institute CADS adheres to and teaches an approach to research ethics and integrity that emphasizes the processual nature of informed consent, situational ethics, and the indispensability of continually updating the ethical tradition in international anthropology in all the work of its researchers…

This project analyzes to what extent hodegetical textbooks relied on each other in warning their readers against vicious habits, how much continuity their catalogs of vice displayed, and to what extent vices that persisted throughout the 18th and 19th centuries were associated with easy-to-remember…

My research project aims to analyze reasons of the European Union’s (EU) inadequacy to develop a strong Common Security and Defense Policy (CSDP) with regard to the role of main EU member states, namely Germany and the United Kingdom (UK) and find the answer of how the EU overcome the CSDP question…

Harm reduction in practice: a comparative analysis of the Dutch and Brazilian approach towards drug users.

This project, commissioned by DG Research and Innovation, aims to provide information for policies that lead to the creation and improvement of the conditions which will allow researchers and European industries to safely master the properties of nanomaterials and to innovate with nanotechnology.

Governments are increasingly facilitating the roll-out of so-called “smart meters”, a technology for measuring energy consumption that are able to transmit and receive data using a form of electronic communication. However, implementation has been slow or even stalled.

PACES is an innovative, inter-disciplinary and multi-level research project that asks, How do changes in society, individual life experiences and migration policy shape decisions to stay or to migrate over time and across countries? And how can this knowledge inform future migration policies and gov…

This research paper was requested by the European Parliament's Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs. It was published by the International Centre for Counter-Terrorism (ICCT) in The Hague. Leiden University is one of the participating institutes in this publication and our researcher…

In this top-rated course, you will learn how the European Union prepares and decides on policy, and how policy is transferred to member states and implemented by various authorities. It discusses the challenges of the European multi-level governance structure and the main causes of policy failure or…

Within the Sociology of Policy in Practice specialisation you will develop a research project on prevailing policy problems.

Jaroslaw Kantorowicz examines how strategic climate litigation influences public attitudes on climate policy, using a UK experiment to explore legal cues.

Sociology of Policy in Practice focuses on policy-oriented research. It enables you to gain relevant working experience by conducting a three-month research internship in Ghana or the Netherlands.

On 27 May, Dimitra Stefoudi defended the thesis 'Legal and policy aspects of space big data: legal implications of the use of large amounts of space data – regulatory solutions and policy recommendations'. The doctoral research was supervised by Steven Truxal and Bart Custers.

Politicians' statements often involve emotions, shaping public perceptions. This study highlights the role of emotions in EU foreign policy.

The policies relating to language pursued by European monarchies and states have been widely studied, but far less attention has been given to their linguistic and cultural policies in territories outside their own borders.

This project maps the policy of ‘Paz Total’ (Total Peace) and ongoing peace negotiations between non-state armed groups and the government of Colombia under the presidency of Gustavo Petro (2022-2026).

Following the terrorist attacks in Paris (November 2015) and Brussels (March 2016), Belgium’s counterterrorism policy has been heavily criticized – domestically and worldwide.

How can we promote social cohesion in a society that is culturally and religiously diverse?

Global Environmental Extensions Multi-Regional Input-Output (EE-MRIO) analysis is often used to analyze how changes in global and national demand for products lead to socioeconomic and environmental impacts at the national level.

Both Europe and Latin America face challenges globally and at home. Conflicts over land and resources have been resurgent in recent years.

There is an increasing amount of attention on EU and its Member States contributions to implementation of two landmark agreements: the Paris Climate Agreement and the UN Agenda 2030 with Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Absent from the current literature is an analysis of the political effect of…