Lecture, Peace Histories Seminar Series

Jeff Fynn-Paul, lecturer at Leiden University’s Institute for History, was recently awarded the European History Quarterly’s 2016 Prize for his article “Occupation, Family, and Inheritance in Fourteenth-Century Barcelona: A Socio-Economic Profile of One of Europe’s Earliest Investing Publics.”

Olaf van Vliet is Professor of Economics at the Department of Economics and at the Institute of Public Administration, Leiden University. He is also Head of the Department of Economics.

Yiya Chen is a Professor of Phonetics at the Leiden University Centre for Linguistics. She studies the sounds of languages with an interdisciplinary approach. The broad goal of her research is to understand the language structures and cognitive mechanisms that underlie speech and speech communication.…

NATO not only safeguards our security and stability, but also defends Enlightenment principles, promoting prosperity, health and freedom. This is what eminent psychologist and thinker Steven Pinker argued to a packed Great Auditorium.

On 28 October 2022, Yao Yuan spoke at the conference in Rome on 'Understanding national security concerns in light of FDI screening', jointly organised by Università Telematica internazionale UNINETTUNO and Uppsala University.

We talk with Michiel van Elk, about his research into mapping what effects psychedelics have on the human brain and what this means for the possible clinical application of these drugs. The cognitive psychologist shares his findings with a sober view, bringing critics and fanatics closer together for…

Daniel C. Thomas is Professor of International Relations at the Institute of Political Science at Leiden University.

Emma ter Mors is an associate professor at the unit of Social, Economic and Organisational Psychology. She is also Head of Advice at the Knowledge Centre Psychology and Economic Behaviour (KCPEG).

Wilco van Dijk is professor Economic Psychology and its applications and chair of the unit Social, Economic and Organisational Psychology. He is also director of the Knowledge Centre Psychology and Economic Behaviour.

Eric van Dijk graduated in economics and in psychology at Groningen University, and then moved to Leiden to work on his dissertation on social dilemmas. In 1993 he defended his dissertation (cum laude). His research concentrates on the understanding of economic and social decision making. In 2002 he…

The US-Israeli strikes on Iran have been welcomed by critics of the regime but have also prompted intense concern. They’ve triggered a dangerous domino effect across the region and beyond. Leiden experts share their insights on the potential consequences.

Lecture

Europe’s security suddenly looks uncertain now President Trump has started negotiations with Putin. What does this mean for the Netherlands? What do we need to do?

While tens of thousands of visitors dance to deafening music, a team of Leiden psychologists are trying to collect data for their research at Lowlands. How do festivalgoers experience a virtual trip? And what role do factors such as too little sleep and whether they have experience with psychedelics…

PhD defence

A flood of news reports, push notifications and even extra news broadcasts: on Wednesday, the world was shocked by the storming of the Capitol in Washington. Americanist Sara Polak discusses the events.

Masses of hamburgers, steaks, cheese and a lot of eggs: Americans love their animal products. But researcher Oliver Taherzadeh discovered that only a relatively small group of high-volume consumers need to modify their diet to achieve an enormous environmental gain.

PhD defence

For every period, it is a challenge to unearth the details of political trafficking; yet the effort needs to include all relevant persons, groups, and institutions – not only those wielding formal responsibilities. We hope to reinvigorate this effort by inviting specialists to present their research…

Sara Polak is a University Lecturer in American Studies and Modern English Literature at the Leiden University Centre for the Arts in Society. She is PI of the ERC Project Worlding America: How Play Shaped the United States from New Media to Politics, 1503-2028.

Amy Eaglestone is a lecturer at the Institute of Political Science.

In her research and teaching, Tessa Minter focuses on environmental anthropology, with a specific interest in livelihood strategies of forest-dependent and coastal peoples in the Asia-Pacific region, and their adaptation to social and environmental change.

Niels van Willigen is Professor by Special Appointment in Strategic Studies at the Institute of Political Science.

Lecture

Niels van Leeuwen is enrolled in the Master Public Administration: Economics & Governance. During the first stage of his master, he did an internship in the United States, at the economic affairs department of the Royal Netherlands Consulate General in Chicago. ‘There are more ways that lead to Rome…

A particular group of counter protesters have been sighted at numerous Black Lives Matter protests that were held in the United States. An extreme right movement known for its characteristic Hawaii Shirts and heavy weaponry that calls itself the Boogaloo Boys. Which is cause for concern among the American…

Lecture

Better pay and new agreements with streaming platforms: the actors’ strike that brought Hollywood to a standstill a few days ago is mainly about money. But there is something else that film actors are worried about: the increasing use of Artificial Intelligence. Is this fear justified?

Panel discussion

Frans Willem Korsten is a Professor Literature, Culture and Law at the Leiden University Centre for the Arts in Society.

Hans Mol is Professor Emeritus by Special Appointment of Medieval Frisian History on behalf of the Fryske Akademy at the Leiden University Institute for History.

Lecture

Debate

Migrants are expensive. Or are they? Professor Olaf van Vliet collaborated on a big research project from Leiden University to map the costs of migration. During the last episode of this season of the podcast Open Geesten (Open Minds), he talks about the initial results. Do migrants really put a lot…

Maartje van der Woude, Professor of Law and Society, was a guest on NPO Radio 1 programme 'Spraakmakers' to talk about more border fences on the EU’s external borders and the usefulness of such measures. She was also a guest on 'Vroeg!' to discuss a court case about ethnic profiling.

A research team led by Dr. Yannick Veilleux-Lepage (Institute of Security and Global Affairs) in collaboration with Emil Archambault has secured funding from the Canadian Department of National Defence’s Mobilizing Insights in Defence and Security (MINDS) program to study the use of drones by violent…

Athanasios Stathopoulos is a University Lecturer at the Institute for History since August 2019, but has been a familiar face at Leiden University since 2015. He introduces himself below.

Film screening and panel discussion

On Friday 21 May, the Europa Institute held an online roundtable on the European Union’s coronavirus relief fund NextGenerationEU. The roundtable was organised in the context of the Leiden Law Exchanges (LLX). Their aim is to facilitate an exchange of ideas on current legal issues between academics,…

Alumnus Ben Smulders has worked for the European Commission for the past 33 years. ‘The discipline and depth that I experienced during my student days has helped me through various stages of my professional career.’

In September 2025 Leiden University hosted a greatly successful academic conference "Care and the Jewish Experience" organized by the Leiden Jewish Studies Network. Among our guests and presenters were academics from many universities, many disciplines and at different stages of their academic caree…