Physical chemist Rik Mom developed a revolutionary way to investigate catalysts in action in detail. For this work he received the distinction cum laude during his PhD defence on 29 June.

A professor from Leiden University has subjected various colleagues to intimidating and unacceptable behaviour for a longer period. These are the findings of an investigation carried out by the University’s independent Complaints Committee for Unacceptable Behaviour at the request of the Executive Board…

The brain structure of young people with conduct disorder differs significantly from that of their typically developing peers. This is the conclusion of an international study that analysed more than two thousand MRI scans, recently published in The Lancet Psychiatry. Dr Moji Aghajani, one of the principal…

Jasmina Mačkić, assistant professor at the Europa Institute, presented her research during ‘The Dissident’, a live talk show which is organised regularly by World-Talks, on 24th May 2018. The event revolved around the Nigerian human rights defender Justus Ijeoma, the founder of the International Human…

Book presentation

Interdisciplinarity is more than a buzzword in academia. It’s essential for tackling today’s biggest challenges. But what does it look like in practice? How can PhDs learn the skills needed to work across disciplines, and how can supervisors master the art of guiding them?

Urban riots, violent responses by police, drug-related assassinations, child abuse, bar fights: Violence is a core theme in today’s modern society.

The human trafficking of Eritrean refugees is a booming business, where money is made with smuggling people, but also using violence, hostage situations and even torture. Modern communication methods like money transfer via mobile phones play a vital role in this, conclude professor Mirjam van Reisen…

An international comparative study of the Netherlands, Belgium, Denmark, France, Germany, the United Kingdom and the United States.

The combination of academic and professional skills taught in the CSM prepares you for a wide variety of careers in the rapidly expanding domain of security and crisis management, including public or private sector and policy-making positions.

The combination of academic and professional skills taught in the CSM prepares you for a wide variety of careers in the rapidly expanding domain of security and crisis management, including public or private sector and policy-making positions.

In the academic year 2023-2024 the SRS interdisciplinary programme will offer four courses for interested students who are entering the third year of their Bachelor's degree. You can sign up for these courses in your elective (minor) space. You can follow the courses individually as an elective, or…

Huiselijk geweld is een ingrijpend probleem in Nederland, met jaarlijkse fatale gevolgen. De impact gaat verder dan alleen de slachtoffers zelf en raakt ook nabestaanden en de samenleving als geheel. Tot nu toe/Momenteel ontbreekt het echter aan een gestructureerde manier om fatale gevallen systematisch…

De vraag is hoe groot de dreiging van het rechts-extremisme is in Nederland? Nikki Sterkenburg spreekt hierover in Trouw en RTL Nieuws.

Joana Cook talks about the Islamist parties increasingly taking power in the last four decades on ABC News.

The annual homicide rate has decreased considerably since the 1990s. In their hunt for an explanation, researchers Pauline Aarten and Marieke Liem made a surprising discovery: if you divide homicides into categories, you find significant differences in the homicide rate. Publication in the European…

Carlotta Rigotti, Postdoc researcher at eLaw, was invited by Conventry University to join a roundtable on policy approaches to address online and technology-facilitated violence.

On Tuesday 30 September 2025, PhD candidate Jonathan Collins will defend his dissertation A Wolf in Sheep’s Clothing: A Mixed-Methods Analysis of the Far-Right Alt-Tech Social Media Movement in Leiden’s Academy Building. His work examines the communication dynamics of far-right communities on alternative…

Do you have any questions about the minor Violence Studies? Please contact us!

The goal of this project is to keep a close watch on the developing nature of homicide in the Dutch Caribbean region.

Juan Masullo J., Assistant Professor at Leiden University’s Institute of Political Science, has been named a 2025 Harry Frank Guggenheim Distinguished Scholar. His research with Nicholas Barnes on public security policy preferences in Rio de Janeiro's favelas has been recognized for its innovative approach…

This one-year, English-taught Master's programme offers insights on general developments as well as the specific challenges in the field of the governance of crisis and security, with in-depth knowledge of sub-fields of crisis and security management.

Marieke Liem wrote a contribution for DJIzien, a magazine published by the Dutch Custodial Institutions Agency (Ministry of Justice and Security), about her meetings with long-term prisoners. ‘For my research on long-term prisoners I made numerous visits to Dutch prisons. During these visits, I came…

This study assesses nationwide, disaggregated trends in homicide rates over a 25-year period. Using a unique, detailed dataset, spanning a quarter of a century of homicide data allowed Aarten & Liems to assess type-specific homicide trends and the relationship between gender and age within these tre…

Drugs-related violence in Mexico is similar in terms of dynamics and strategy to the IS hybrid war in the West. This is the claim made by Teun Voeten. PhD defence 20 September.

No evidence found that increasing migration leads to an increase in politically and ideologically motivated criminality. Migration flows have, however resulted in increased polarisation in the Netherlands.

Now that war is once again raging in Europe, the question of when you need to stand up against injustice has become more relevant than ever. In his Cleveringa lecture on 24 November historian Gert Oostindie will discuss why colonial domination was not regarded as an issue in Leiden for a long time.

Acquiring and maintaining public support is frequently cited as an important requirement for governments fighting non-state actors. But how exactly can public support influence the course of counterterrorism campaigns and thereby contribute to an escalation or de-escalation of violence?

Understanding what motivates foreign fighters to go and fight in war zones and analysing their social environment offers a basis for preventing them from going.

Social resilience and security has never been more important. Over the last 2 years, the COVID-19 pandemic has created a considerable disturbance to our personal and social lives. As a result, the general population reports more stress, loneliness and decreased quality of life. At the same time, there…

Nikki Sterkenburg, external PhD candidate at the Institute of Security and Global Affairs in The Hague, was interviewed by the NOS programme Nieuws & Co about the meeting of Thierry Baudet with Alt-Right movement Jared Taylor. 'If Baudet would have wished to stay aloof of this movement, he shouldn’t…

This book contextualizes the use of terror as part of wider movements of political contention, demonstrating that terroristic innovation occurs as part of wider historical processes rather than in a vacuum.