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.

Research on lethal violence related to criminal activities.

This article investigates how parenthood serves as a critical turning point for young people in Latin America, influencing their criminal trajectories.

Trajectories of social life in the yucayeque (community) of El Cabo, Higüey, Dominican Republic, AD 800 to 1504

Karmaşık Avcı-Toplayıcılardan Erken Kentsel Toplumlara

This dissertation explores the relationship among creditors in sovereign debt restructuring and specifically focuses on the issue of inter-creditor equity.

On 29 april 2020, Beth Van Schaack defended her thesis 'Imagining Justice for Syria: Water Always Finds Its Way'. The doctoral research was supervised by Prof. C. Stahn.

This study assesses nationwide, disaggregated trends in homicide rates over a 25-year period. Using a unique, detailed dataset, spanning a quarter of a century of homicide data allowed Aarten & Liems to assess type-specific homicide trends and the relationship between gender and age within these tre…

Hekmat Dirbas defended his thesis on 14 February 2017

Social Aspects of Space in the Configurational Architecture of Frankish Castles in the Holy Land, 1099-1291

In this article, Makszin developed a conceptual framework for the operating mission of an independent Central Bank and traced changes in the operating mission of the Hungarian National Bank over its recent 27-year history together with Sebők and Simons. This study aims to understand the dynamics of…

Jan Melissen, Senior Fellow International Relations and Diplomacy at ISGA, researched the topic of consular diplomacy in a digital age. Specifically: the communicative challenge.

In the IEG you study such core themes as: decision making in multi-level governance systems; the transfer of sovereignty and policies to international organisations; and the effects of supranational policies on national governments’ ability to tackle domestic problems, among other issues.

This PhD project investigates how Russian state-aligned media frame the war in Ukraine for international audiences and how these frames travel across borders, being adopted, adapted, or challenged by foreign media and political actors.

In this article, Seda Gürkan, Özlem Atikcan and George Christou examine how EU institutions responded to Turkey’s democratic decline between 2014 and 2024, analysing how conditionality was framed and applied by the European Commission, European Parliament and European Council.

In this book, Jan Melissen and other authors explore how governments engage domestic citizens in global affairs through the emerging practice of 'home engagement' in diplomacy, highlighting its growing importance in an interconnected and politically turbulent world.

The vision of the Business & Law Research Network (BLRN) is that company and insolvency law should facilitate and ignite societal collaboration and cooperation, to serve economic development and societal interests. Law should therefore be closely aligned with socio-economic developments, which requires…

The book is written for students working in a range of disciplines, and provides an accessible, balanced and nuanced introduction to the field of public international law. It explains the basic concepts and legal frameworks of public international law while acknowledging the field’s inherent complexities…

Liesbeth van der Heide, Education and Research Staff Member at the Institute of Security and Global Affairs (ISGA), wrote on 20 April in the American news publication, Foreign Policy about the March’s deadly massacre in Mali, which exposed the lack of progress since the country’s peace accords. Furthermore,…

What do the election results say about the Netherlands today? Students and experts discussed this at an Election Breakfast organised by study association Diqit. Analysts, including Hans-Martien ten Napel, Associate Professor of Constitutional and Administrative Law, notice a new dividing line in Dutch…

This open access book explores the role of continuity in political processes and practices during the Age of Revolutions.

Where did the new generation of antislavery activists get their inspiration to organize in large-scale pressure groups?

Vincent Bakker has won the 2017 Thesis Prize of the research master’s programme Political Science and Public Administration. His study of labour market effects of social investment policies is the crowning achievement of Bakker’s work as a MSc student. It also marks the start of his academic career.…

It occurs on a regular basis: a public administrator resigns or is dismissed when their integrity is at stake. To what extent does that damage their image? Geerten Boogaard, Professor of Local Government, discusses this in an item published by regional public broadcaster ‘Omroep Gelderland’.

Jorik ter Veer studied Political Science in Leiden. How does he look back on his student days?

2021, again, sees a rich harvest of bachelor theses in Political Science. Students have been tackling fascinating subjects—ranging from European solidarity in the COVID-19 crisis to the representation of women in democratically elected parliaments—and crowning their research projects with interesting,…

This article explores how ISIS and the Taliban have fostered support through their parallel legal systems.

For early modern Europeans, the past was a measure of most things, good and bad. For that reason it was also hotly contested, manipulated, and far too important to be left to historians alone.

European integration is under pressure. At the same time, the notion of a European administrative space is being explicitly voiced. But does a shared idea of the public servant exist in Europe?

Lecture

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…

Every day, Veilig Thuis employees receive hundreds of reports of domestic violence and child abuse. Despite their efforts, they are heavily criticised due to the long waiting times. Mariëlle Bruning, Professor of Children and the Law, appeared on talk show ‘Eva’ to discuss the Dutch care and welfare…

October and November not only bring a number of proud Political Science graduates, it is also the season to determine who wrote the best bachelor’s thesis. For 2021-2022, fifteen theses were nominated. During the various graduation ceremonies the two final winners were announced: Essi Maria Teresia…

Protest is a human right and an important way to hold the authorities to account. But how does the right to protest relate to academic freedom and the right to education?

Even though the COVID-crisis continuously evolves and is marked by new realities and uncertainties, we can carefully begin to take stock looking back on the first phases of Dutch crisis management. What can we learn reflecting on the crisis strategies of this extraordinary and transboundary crisis that…

The numbers of asylum seekers and the direct family members hoping to join them were not the problem, says Mark Klaassen. The stumbling block was the housing market. He says the asylum crisis is being used for electoral gain.

Bernardo Almeida will give a webinar on Building land tenure systems in Timor-Leste on February 18, 2021, from 15.30 - 17.00. This webinar is organised by the KITLV.

On Monday, April 24 the Austria Centre Leiden and the Leiden Jewish Studies Association hosted a special seminar with Prof. Edyta Gawron entitled “Politics and the Holocaust in Modern Poland.” Gawron is a historian and professor of Jewish Studies at Jagiellonian University in Kraków and a noted expert…

On 18 October, Armin Cuyvers, Associate Professor of European Law at the Europa Instituut, spoke at the Law School of Sydney University on reconciling political drama and legal realities in Brexit.

The Just Peace Dialogues were a set of meetings for public deliberation of key aspects of building peace in today’s world. The dialogues were held across seven days at the heart of the Just Peace Festival (16 - 22 June 2025).

On Friday, April 5, the Ecuadorian police stormed the Mexican Embassy in Quito to arrest former Ecuadorian vice president Jorge Glas Espinel.

The Team International Relations and European Studies addresses the interconnections and interdependence of contemporary global political, economic, security and culture from a multidisciplinary perspective rooted in the humanities. More specifically it is concerned with the study of international relations…