PhD defence

Lecture, CHiLL series

The MA International Relations program at Leiden University convened a roundtable forum at Leiden University The Hague Campus to examine the international and domestic stakes of Rodrigo Duterte’s arrest and detention under an International Criminal Court (ICC) warrant.

During the corona pandemic, the Chinese government's digital communication with its citizens changed. Hard propaganda was increasingly replaced by ‘soft news’. PhD candidate Dechun Zhang mapped the developments in digital society.

Ruth Alison Clemens is a Postdoctoral Researcher at the Leiden University Centre for the Arts in Society. Her current research project is titled 'Posthuman Music Machines: Literature in the Age of the Pianola' and is part of the NWO Startersbeurs project 'Tracing Players Playing Traces: Non/Human Music…

Song Tan is a PhD candidate at the Leiden University Centre for the Arts in Society. He works on adaptations of classical works in the Middle Ages.

Wouter Veenendaal, a political scientist at Leiden University, is an analyst for the Freedom House report. Freedom House is an American non-profit organisation dedicated to democracy, political freedom and human rights. In short, the report describes the degree of freedom and the state of democracy…

In the current political situation of Bulgaria, it seems that a long-term caretaker government is the only viable option at the moment. Dimiter Toshkov, Antoaneta Dimitrova and Bernard Steunenberg of FGGA analyse what the Bulgarian caretaker government can learn from its Dutch counterpart.

Anahita Arian is an assistant professor at the Institute of Political Science.

The democratic rule of law is under pressure due to a series of scandals and integrity issues, as seen in the recent parliamentary inquiries. Professor Ronald Kroeze explains: 'Public office holders are expected to show complete dedication, but that norm is quite absolute, and what we mean by it is…

Do political knowledge and democratic values encourage young people to participate in politics or not? Political Scientist Leila Demarest had a closer look at adolescents’ participation intentions in Nigeria and shared her findings with The Conversation.

The Executive Board of Leiden University has appointed Dr Tom Louwerse as Professor of Political Behaviour and Research Methods at the Institute of Political Science.

Pita Limjaroenrat (45) was set to become Thailand’s next prime minister, but in 2024 the Thai Constitutional Court dissolved his progressive Move Forward Party and banned him from politics. He now reflects publicly on the policy values that brought the party to prominence.

We are living through an age in which social media platforms have given way to entirely new forms of politics and politicking. It is no exaggeration to say: there is a before and after social media.

Ramsey Albers wins Political Science Master’s Thesis Prize 2022

I am a PhD candidate at Leiden University supported by a CSC scholarship, working on an individual research project in Buddhist art history. My work explores the sensory history of Buddhist art with particular attention to affect theory, visual and narrative rhetorics, and the localisation of iconography.…

Three new ministries have been formed in the Netherlands: Asylum and Migration, Housing and Spatial Planning & Climate and Green Growth. Of course, this is not merely an administrative act. These ministries carry a strong and political charge and play a crucial role in shaping a government's political…

Nike van Helden is an external PhD and Lecturer at the Leiden University Centre for the Arts in Society. With a background in Latin American Studies, Nike has specialized in literary analysis, and Cuban literature in particular.

Lecture, China Seminar

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…

Sometimes fascination can lead to in-depth research. Such is the case with Wahyu Widodo, who came across the Islamic Walikutuban ritual in Java in 2019, on which he subsequently wrote his PhD dissertation. Widodo: ‘Besides community, it also breeds political loyalty’

Dutch election signals a return to the political centre, with voters seeking practical solutions both at home and across Europe. Bernard Steunenberg, Professor of Public Administration, cautions that losses for the PVV, the party of Geert Wilders, do not mean the far right has been defeated.

On 1 January 2022, Joop van Holsteijn was appointed Scientific Director and, as Chair of the Institute's Board, will represent the Institute of Political Science at faculty and university level.

Political scientists study topics that affect society, but their work often remains out of the spotlight. Not always: the research of Leiden political scientist Simon Otjes does have a visible impact.

Rizal Shidiq is a University Lecturer at the Leiden University Institute for Area Studies. He is an economist by training with primary fields in development economics and monetary theory, and secondary field public choice. His current research topics are on political connections in developing countries,…

Five questions for James Shires, assistant professor at ISGA, about his new book, The Politics of Cybersecurity in the Middle East. The book is available to order now.

MA International Relations: Culture and Politics student Annick van Rinsum created a play as a method to research her master’s thesis. “Through writing this play, I aim to contribute to our understanding of International Relations Theory. I’m specifically interested in the question how our theories…

Writing a master’s thesis in Political Science is a demanding yet rewarding journey. Every year, students deliver impressive research that showcases their analytical skills and academic rigor. This year, one thesis stood out for its exceptional quality. On 31 October 2025, during the master’s graduation…

Over 30.000 pages of new material have been added to the online collection of unofficial poetry publications from China in the Leiden Digital Collections. Produced outside the system, these journals and books are hugely influential yet very hard to find. To address this paradox, Leiden University Libraries…

Emma Grootveld is a University Lecturer at the Leiden University Centre for the Arts in Society.

Joris Larik, Assistant Professor at Leiden University College in The Hague, was interviewed live on Al Jazeera on 2 April 2021 about the current political upheaval in The Netherlands and the difficult process of forming a new government.

Hongwei Bao is a guest researcher at the Institute for Area Studies.

Eva Polman joined the Institute for the Interdisciplinary Study of the Law as a Uytenbogaert PhD candidate in September 2022.

Joris van de Riet is a researcher and lecturer at the Department of Jurisprudence, where he is preparing a doctoral thesis on the relevance of Immanuel Kant's political philosophy to international law and international relations.

Simon Willmetts is Associate Professor of Intelligence Studies at the Institute of Security and Global Affairs. He is a cultural historian interested in the history of secrecy, intelligence, surveillance and digital privacy. His research focusses upon the wider social and cultural impact of secret intelligence…