This Conference volume unites a wide range of scholars working in the fields of history, archaeology, religion, art, and philology in an effort to explore new perspec-tives and methods in the study of primary sources from premodern South and Southeast Asia.

Nirajan Kafle defended his thesis on 15 October 2015

In contemporary India, the regional state of West Bengal has often been perceived as somewhat of an aberration in the wider context of a rather chaotic democracy, as the Left Front (spearheaded by the Communist Party of India-Marxist, CPIM) demonstrated a rare instance of political stability, decisively…

For hundreds of years, the island of Sri Lanka was a crucial stopover for people and goods in the Indian Ocean. For the Dutch East India Company, it was also a crossroads in the Indian Ocean slave trade. Slavery was present in multiple forms in Sri Lanka—then Ceylon—when the British conquered the island…

Does foreign aid promote human rights?

This project aims at describing the Khoisan languages !Ora (Korana/Griqua) and !Ui of South Africa.

Natural resources often stretch across borders that separate modern nation states. This can create conflict and limit opportunities for regulated consumption of their goods and services, but also provide opportunities for joint multinational efforts that exceed single country capabilities.

DIGIFOOD is a transnational research project that investigates how data governance can support equitable and sustainable digital food systems. Around the world, digital technologies are transforming agriculture. Sensors in soil, satellites in space, and mobile phones in farmers’ hands are generating…

The funerary textile tradition from the Osmore Valley, South Peru, and its social-political implications (2005)

This project launches a research program into the theoretical status and the terminological basis of evidentiality systems.

On 12 April 2022 Alok Oak successfully defended a doctoral thesis and graduated.

A study of Dutch Fort at Galle, Sri Lanka

This study explores the role of linguistic data in the reconstruction of Dolgan (pre)history by analyzing contact-induced changes and using them to infer information about the nature of the contact settings in which they occurred.

Several times per year, the Europa Institute organises a ‘Meet the Author’ event. In the context of this event series external academics come to Leiden to discuss one of their recent publications. The event starts with a conversation between a member of the Europa Institute and the author, after which…

On the 13th of October, Cesko Voeten successfully defended a doctoral thesis and graduated. The Leiden University Centre for Linguistics congratulates Cesko on this achievement!

This project looks at how the native language influences processing mechanisms of non-native language(s) as well has how it influences brain structure and functional connectivity.

How do Central African refugees navigate through uncertainty in a new and hostile environment in the DR Congo?

The Public Management and Organisation section of the Institute of Public Administration focuses on public organisations and the behaviour of the managers and professionals working within them. Our vision is that understanding human behaviour and organisational dynamics is essential for understanding…

To what extent did the street patterns in urban districts influence crime patterns?

The central aim is examining gender differences in recorded crime, particularly in relation to interpersonal violence, in early modern Bologna.

How do old and new Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) relate to new social and political movements in Central Africa? What does this tell us about Africa and the Information Age?

We are experts in the fields of languages, cultures, history, arts, societies and philosophy. Together we cover almost all continents and time periods. Knowledge of these disciplines contributes to a humane, safe and sustainable world.

Islam is a religion as well as a cultural practice that takes on a diversity of forms, some of them contradictory. This has always been the case, and it is becoming increasingly apparant in the modern world through migration, globalisation and the digitial media. The minor Islam: Religion and Society,…

Eight scientists from Leiden University have been awarded a grant by the Dutch Research Council (NWO). With this Vidi funding, the researchers can set up an innovative line of research and further expand their own research group over the next five years.

The Asian Library holds the largest collection on Indonesia worldwide, and some of the foremost collections on South and Southeast Asia, China, Japan and Korea.

On 17 March 2022, Ilke Göçmen from Ankara University organised a Conference within the framework of a Jean Monnet Chair on ‘Legal Issues in Turkey – European Union Relations’.

The 9th Network Europe Conference in Edinburgh was held at June 2017 in Edinburgh and organized by the Europa Institut Zurich. The contributions of the conference are now published.

As part of the Leiden Heritage Deal, the Municipality of Leiden collaborates with Leiden University, Naturalis, and the Leiden Regional Heritage Office, to study the climate challenges facing the city centre and its historic green and blue networks. The goal is to contribute to a biodiverse, climate-resilient…

When politicians claim they can make major differences with their migration policies, they’re raising false expectations. The opportunities for the government to restrict migration are in fact very limited. And what about the little room they do have? Mark Klaassen’s advice is to make use of those opportunities…

A newly opened museum in China appears to be devoted to the origins of the Austronesian-speaking peoples, who some 5000 years ago spread from East Asia across the Pacific, seeding it with a distinctive culture and some 1200 languages. But those displays are also a statement in the long-running dispute…

Imagine: you’re seeking asylum in the Netherlands due to your sexual orientation or gender identity. The immigration authorities might question you about your sexuality. PhD candidate Elias Tissandier-Nasom, who is researching asylum applications submitted by LGBTQI+ children, explains that the process…

The Dutch asylum application centre in Ter Apel is overburdened, an issue that is currently a prominent feature in the Dutch media. In podcast De Verbranders, PhD students Neske Baerwaldt and Wiebe Ruijtenberg engage in dialogue, and use different angles to examine themes related to migration, borders…

The jury of the Africa Thesis Award is delighted to announce that the 2024 prize has been awarded to Baleseng Maeneche, a graduate of the Faculty of Arts & Humanities at the University of the Western Cape, for her thesis 'Media Representations of Male Perpetrators of Violence against Women and Children:…

On Tuesday 30 May 2017 Jorrit Rijpma, Associate Professor at the Europa Institute, together with his colleagues Prof. Thomas Spijkerboer (Free University) and Dr. Maarten den Heijer (University of Amserdam), delivered a key note address at the Nordic Asylum Law Seminar in Reykjavik, Iceland.

What role(s) do border officials play in the enforcement and management of border control and border mobilities and how do these roles relate to the personal, organisational and larger societal context within which these officials operate?

By carrying out fundamental research and providing excellent education, universities become a breeding ground for innovation and entrepreneurship.

Discover the effects of clothing value and lifespan on buyer-user-producer relationships through collaborative research with Localising Global Garment Biographies.

Film screening

Lecture, This Time for Africa! series

LIAS is comprised of three research schools with expertise in different areas:

Do you have a question about student life in Leiden, studying at Leiden University, or do you want more information about the Asian Studies master's programme? Chat with a current student for answers to your questions!

The announcement by US President Donald Trump on 9 March in response to the invitation for a summit meeting with the North Korean supreme leader Kim Jong Un came as a big surprise. Media analyses vary from being very positive to almost cynically negative. However, according to researcher on Korea Koen…

'Mariana Gkliati delivered a presentation entitled: 'Accountability of the Europepan Border and Coast Guard Agency: The Litigation Route' at the Refugee Law Initiative's 2nd Annual Conference in London, on Monday 5 June