Electoral Systems and Turnout: Evidence From a Regression Discontinuity Design. In this article, published on the website SAGE research methods, authors Jaroslaw Kantorowicz and Tobias M. Hlobil discuss how a Regression Discontinuity Design can be executed.

This study investigates how the tenure of security (proxied by both inter- and intra-party electoral advantage) affects the engagement and political performance of members of parliament.

MPs in the Netherlands are first and foremost motivated by their direct environment, i.e. the parliamentary and partisan institutions.

Although it is already certain that Vladimir Putin will win the Russian presidential election on 18 March, it is still significant for him, argues Russian expert André Gerrits. ‘The support of the people reinforces Putin's position of power.’

Political scientists Tom van der Meer, Lisa Janssen (University of Amsterdam) and Tom Louwerse (Leiden University) analyse polls presented by the main polling agencies in the Netherlands, as well as micro-level panel data. They reach three main conclusions. First, vote intention polls in the Netherlands…

Political scientists Marijn Nagtzaam (Leiden University) and Patrick van Erkel (University of Antwerp) investigate how electoral rules affect intra party preference voting. Focusing on the effect of two specific rules—the option to cast a list vote and on a single versus multiple preference vote—and…

With our research and teaching, we help make the world a better place. We join in the academic and public debate, and seek answers to economic and social issues – not just at the local and regional level but at the global one too.

The main objectives of this project are to measure and explain government-opposition distinctiveness and to study its consequences for democratic legitimacy and vote choice.

Some MPs are very active, while others are not. The number of proposals and questions that MPs in the Netherlands put forward is determined in part by the level of activity of their fellow committee members rather than by electoral incentive, which is the case in other countries.

Political scientists John Gerring (University of Texas, Austin) and Wouter Veenendaal (Universiteit Leiden) evaluate the political implications stemming from the size of a political unit – on social cohesion, the number of representatives, overall representativeness, particularism ('pork'), citizen…

China is a one-party regime, yet elections are held for the local congresses. PhD candidate Wang Zhongyuan investigated how the Communist Party uses this democratic instrument to strengthen the authoritarian regime. PhD defence 31 January.

Will women’s increasing electoral participation in rural India improve governance? On what terms are women being incorporated into politics – through existing patriarchal and clientelist relationships, or through collective action against the patriarchal and clientelist system?

Book by Soledad Valdivia Rivera

This paper describes the development process of voting behavior in Chile; particularly the relationship between the class voting theory and the theory of cultural post-materialist vote is investigated. This research deals with Chile as a case study, a developing country with a relatively stable democracy…

Political scientists Joop van Holsteyn and Tom Louwerse (Leiden University) find that the Dutch government is having a hard time coping with referendum outcomes in general, and ‘anti-European’ sentiments among voters in particular.

As Bolivia reels from the collapse of the government in November 2019, a wave of social protests, and now the impact of Covid-19, this book asks: where next for Bolivia?

Religion, Class, and the Postwar Development of the Dutch Welfare State. Dennie Oude Nijhuis.

The Institute of Political Science is a vibrant department with nearly 70 academic staff in Leiden and nearby The Hague.

Prior to the 2020 presidential election, historians considered the disputed 1876 contest—which pitted Republican Rutherford B. Hayes against Democrat Samuel J. Tilden—the most controversial in American history.

Does democracy still work? How does political representation function in times of fragmentation, populism and polarization? You will study the challenges that established and new democracies face.

The project examines the political conflict in the Red River Valley of Louisiana between the majority-black Republican Party and the overwhelmingly white Democratic Party by studying the composition and actions of each party.

The author researched the motivations of bureaucrats to integrate refugees into welfare services even when they do not have any legal obligation to do so.

Elizabeth Stuart is one the most misrepresented – and underestimated – figures of the seventeenth century. Daughter of James VI & I, she was married to Frederick V, Elector Palatine in 1613 – they were crowned King and Queen of Bohemia in 1619, only to be deposed and exiled to the Dutch Republic in…

In this article, Meier & Nadler suggest that while non-citizen enfranchisement boosts participation across all citizens, citizens with immigration backgrounds are more reactive to the NCV rights in terms of higher turnout. In this way, the paper adds a critical nuance to individual-based explanations…

On 27 September 2017 a new book by Prof. Luuk van Middelaar appeared, entitled The new politics of Europe. The book is at the same time a front line account of Europe’s recent crisis years – from monetary turmoil to tensions around Ukraine, from refugee crisis to Brexit – and an analysis of the Union’s…

Research in Leiden University’s Institute of Political Science focuses on the dynamics and the interaction of political institutions, individual decision-making, and collective behaviour.

Politics is about the authorised allocation of values: who gets what, when and how much? This question is relevant at many different levels, in many different places and in very different ways.

Which key factors contribute to effective land justice pathways for the protection of people’s land rights and prevention of conflict?

This research cluster is a part of the Institute of Political Science’s research programme ‘Institutions, Decisions and Collective Behaviour’. Its members focus on the democratic role of citizens and the representative links between voters and politicians.

Now that the government has collapsed, the Netherlands will have to vote once more. The elections will not take place before November, says the Electoral Council. The Electoral Act sets deadlines for various steps to be taken before new elections can take place. The fact that the summer recess and autumn…

On Wednesday 13 February Mike Eman, former Prime Minister of Aruba, delivered a lecture on the relationship between Aruba, The Kingdom of the Netherlands and the European Union. He spoke about the constitutional position of Aruba in The Kingdom of the Netherlands in the light of EU law and its future…

Omtzigt's new political party 'Nieuw Sociaal Contract' focuses on two key issues: livelihood security and good governance. A candidate list does not exist yet, a substantive programme does. What opportunities are lying in wait for the veteran politician? Dutch television programme Op1 put this question…

Electoral promises are not always realized in the coalition agreement, and that is often at the expense of households. On an average they pay 4 billion euros more than planned. That is what the PhD research of Wimar Bolhuis shows. Several media reacted on his PhD research.

On 3 March 2024, the Swiss electorate decided in a sensational referendum in favour of an increase in the state old-age pension.

Elina Zorina presented her work-in-progress on “Distinctiveness in the Parliamentary Arena: Consequences for Vote Choice” during the GTGC lunch seminar on the 1st of May. Please find the abstract below:

Elif Naz Kayran and Anna-Lena Nadler have received the European Political Science Review (EPSR) Prize for early career scholars.

China is a one-party regime, yet elections are held for the local congresses. PhD candidate Wang Zhongyuan investigated how the Communist Party uses this democratic instrument to strengthen the authoritarian regime. PhD defence 31 January.

The Cleveringa chair was installed by Leiden University in memory of Professor Rudolph Pabus Cleveringa and the courage he demonstrated in November 1940 during the German occupation (1940-1945). It also commemorates the liberation of the Netherlands in 1945.

The August issue of the CML Rev., Vol. 53 No. 4, is now available online.

Statements made by Caroline van der Plas about nitrogen emissions and European law are incorrect: Armin Cuvyers on Dutch radio EenVandaag programme’s item ‘fact or fiction’.

On 6 April the Netherlands will vote on far-reaching cooperation with Ukraine. Referenda are exceptional in Dutch political history, according to Professor of Electoral Research Joop van Holsteijn.

What is the best electoral system for a democracy? First place at the Leiden University Thesis Awards 2021 is for those who have added a cleverly substantiated, personal vision to this socially relevant theme. ' This is what Annetje Ottow, chairman of the executive board and board member of the Leiden…

In December 2014, Leiden University’s Institute of Security and Global Affairs with the Australian National University’s Asia-Pacific College of Diplomacy and the International Centre for Counter-Terrorism, commenced a research project to assess how (temporary) military interventions can best prepare…

There is not a day without language: we use it to read, to write, to communicate. But do you ever wonder how you learned to speak your own language when you were a child? And how, as an adult, do you learn new languages? Linguistics has the answer to those questions. In the BA Linguistics at Leiden…

The brand-new American President Donald Trump delivered his inaugural speech on 20 January. There was little sign of conciliation and he was liberal with the truth, in the opinion of a number of Leiden academics. One professor is more positive: 'He wants to take on radical Islam.'

The battle for a strong power position in the run up to the provincial council elections in the Netherlands is currently being fought fiercely. Prime Minister Mark Rutte has become accustomed to a minority in the Senate in recent years. The four Rutte cabinets were always able to do business with various…

Pieter Omtzigt, leader of the ‘Nieuw Sociaal Contract’ (‘New Social Contract’) party, has withdrawn from talks to form a new Dutch government. Government finances are a divisive issue, and Ronald Plasterk’s decision to withhold documents on government finances seems to have particularly broken trust.…