I am a social anthropologist, trained at Harvard (BA) and SOAS, University of London (MARes, PhD), with a broad interest in urban spaces and the forces that shape our lives in and around them. I have conducted fieldwork in North, Western and East Africa on topics ranging from informal housing, gendered…

Douglas L. Berger is, since 2017, Professor of Global and Comparative Philosophy and the Director of the Centre for Intercultural Philosophy at Leiden University in the Netherlands.

I am a scholar of political economy and development in the Middle East. My research focuses on the Arab region, with a particular focus on Gulf investment in the states of North Africa and the Levant, rural development and business politics. Aside from my academic career I have 20 years experience of…

Judith Frishman is professor emeritus of Judaism at the Leiden University Centre for the Study of Religion.

Ab de Jong is Professor of Comparative Religion at the Leiden University Centre for the Study of Religion (LUCSoR), Leiden Institute for Area Studies (LIAS).

From memorials to the armed forces to memory stones for individual victims. It was only later that the Holocaust took a central role in Western remembrance culture, Cleveringa Professor Frank van Vree notes. ‘Nationalists and human rights activists both invoke the experience of the Holocaust.’

Complex research with a generous sprinkling of jargon: PhD defences can be difficult for non-experts to follow. In the compulsory new lay talk, PhD candidates begin by explaining their dissertation in words of one syllable. And it’s not just the PhD’s family and friends who appreciate this.

A delegation from Leiden University recently embarked on a knowledge mission to various NGOs, universities and government organisations in Indonesia. New partnerships were formed and important knowledge exchanged, and researchers from Leiden gave guest lectures.

Protests have been raging in Iran for two months since the death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini. The role of social media in the protests against the Iranian regime should not be underestimated, says Senior Assistant Professor and Iranian Babak RezaeeDaryakenari.

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.

An evening program in the University Library and Middle Eastern Library in Leiden for everyone who has something to do with the Middle East; from Tajikistan to the Mahreb and from Istanbul to Sanaa. View the oldest books and clay tablets from the collection and listen to the most fascinating stories…

Five Leiden researchers have been awarded a Consolidator Grant by the European Research Council (ERC). This grant of up to two million euros will enable them to continue and expand their scientific research.

Leiden patriot Pieter Vreede fought for greater popular influence. Historian Dirk Alkemade reveals how this pioneer used radical means to shape Dutch democracy.

You can apply various means to increase your societal impact: through interaction with professionals, the commercial sector or general audiences. The University can support you in this process in a number of ways.

Albert Logtenberg is an assistant professor at ICLON.

Marion Elenbaas is a University Lecturer at the Leiden University Centre for Linguistics.

Title research: Concurrence of private law and criminal law in Classical Roman law

Hein Drop is an external PhD candidate / guest at the Institute for History.

Maha Ali is a doctoral researcher exploring the role of Asian states at the United Nations, within the European Research Council (ERC) funded project -

Almost 81 years after his famous protest speech against the German occupation, Leiden professor Rudolph Pabus Cleveringa will be remembered in his Groningen birthplace of Appingedam. A statue of him will be unveiled there on 12 November amid various other activities.

On 4 May, Leiden University remembered the victims of the Second World War from our university community. Alumni, students and present and former staff of the University came together for this Hour of Remembrance.