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.

Lecture, European Union Seminar / CHEI Seminar

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.

How can machines learn from interaction? Or how can intelligence, or, more generally, complex behavior, emerge from simple parts? I remain fond of these classical AI research questions, but I am also increasingly intrigued by what I like to call “Artificial X”: artificializing phenomena beyond intelligence,…

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.

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…

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.

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.

Debate

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.

The Washington Post reviews Nationalism by university lecturer Eric Storm. In this book, Storm explores how nation-states became the dominant political organizational form.

Who holds rights to Greenland’s surrounding waters and natural resources? Which interests are at stake and for whose benefit? We put these questions to Hilde Woker, who specialises in the law of the sea in the Arctic.

Are international courts effective? Dr Fatou Bensouda, a former Lead Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court in The Hague (ICC), will discuss this issue during her lecture at the Owada Symposium 2025. The ICC’s efficacy depends on the actions of its member states, she says.

Lecture, Leiden University Nationalism Network

On 26 September – the European Day of Languages – we will shine a spotlight on our rich array of language and culture programmes. The faculty is organising the Evening of Languages, and we warmly invite you to join us. With an inspiring event we offer the public the opportunity to discover your area…

The Academy of Creative and Performing Arts (ACPA) recently appointed a new academic director. Erik Viskil is taking over from Henk Borgdorff, who held the post for the past four years. What has been achieved in those years? And what does ACPA’s future look like? In this double interview we discuss…

Lecture

The layout of a dissertation must meet certain requirements. Special rules also apply if the dissertation was written with others or if a commercial edition will be published.

Since 1 January 2020 - with the transition to the Dutch Civil Code - the system of writing off leave has changed. When you take leave, the system automatically writes off the hours that fall due first.

Organisation

Kenan van de Mieroop recently joined the Institute for History as Assistant Professor. Below, he introduces himself.

Lecture, Leiden Yemeni Studies Lecture Series

Conference

How can the Netherlands help secure a peaceful future for Israel and Palestine? At a recent meeting at the university, two remarkable speakers shared their perspectives: Somaya Bashir, a Palestinian woman living in Israel, and Palestinian journalist, Houssam Khadra, who fled Gaza over a decade ago.

Six researchers from Leiden University have been awarded NWO Open Competition funding.

Literature – and films and social media too – helps us understand ourselves and society. That makes literary studies an eternally modern discipline, especially if you dare to combine it with other disciplines, says Nidesh Lawtoo.

Eline van Slijpe wrote her Master of Philosophy thesis on intergenerational justice: does the current generation have obligations towards future generations? With this thesis she won the biannual J.C. Baak Prize.

When the PhD research has been completed and the dissertation is (nearly) finished, there are several more steps to take before you can defend it. For example, you must submit your manuscript and make preparations for the PhD defence ceremony.

Based upon an academic partnership between the Universities of Birmingham in the UK and Leiden in the Netherlands, Universities and Society at the End of Empire and Beyond (UniSoc) uses these two global seats of learning as a starting point to examine the role of universities in the transition from…

Conference, Leiden University Nationalism Network

Leiden University has had a diversity policy since 2014. The aim is to create a diverse and inclusive learning and working environment for all students and staff. Diversity Officer Aya Ezawa updates us on the process and the results. It’s now 2022, what has already changed?