All students receiving their bachelor diploma in Political Science last week had a reason or two to celebrate. Two of them especially so: they won the annual award for the best thesis in the International Relations and Organisations and the Politicologie/Internationale Politiek programmes. Congratulations,…

The Dutch government chairs the EU council this year. Researchers from Leiden took this opportunity to reflect on the future of the European Union and to give recommendations where possible. The book will be presented on Friday 29 April, 10.15 AM in Nieuws Poort (Den Haag). Attending the event are Ankie…

On 30 August - 3 September 2021, Valentina Carraro and Jan Aart Scholte presented their papers during the General Conference of the European Consortium for Political Research (ECPR) in Innsbruck, Austria.

This study discusses the position of the monasteries in pre-1950s Tibetan societies and how that position was informed by Buddhist monastic ideology.

How do technological systems impact the environment? And can they be designed in a more sustainable way? The Resources and Energy research program studies the importance of resources and energy for our society and aims to guide the shift towards a sustainable circular economy.

Compact Cinematics challenges the dominant understanding of cinema to focus on the various compact, short, miniature, pocket-sized forms of cinematics that have existed from even before its standardization in theatrical form, and in recent years have multiplied and proliferated, taking up an increasingly…

China wordt steeds assertiever in zijn relaties met andere landen, maar achter dit beeld gaat een opmerkelijk diverse maatschappij en politieke realiteit schuil die tal van aanknopingspunten biedt voor samenwerking en verdere integratie van China in de wereld. In China een gids voor de 21e eeuw past…

'Re-territorialising skills? Insights from ethnography on solidarity-economy food activism' is written by Cristina Grasenni and published in the Special Feature: Original Article Agriculture (re‐)territorialisation: Balancing the promotion of local products and international trade in Europe.

You will develop an understanding of the interconnectedness between the world economy, international law, justice, war and how peace might become more prevalent.

Understand how the economy works and shapes today’s challenges

How can we organise society so as to keep our planet habitable for us and for all other life forms around us? To answer this question, Leiden researchers collaborate across disciplines, from biology to data science, and from environmental economy to archaeology.

Korea specialist Koen De Ceuster has combined 1200 posters from North Korea in one database. He believes the posters are extremely valuable for researchers who want to make a more in-depth study of this closed country. The database will be launched on 15 June in Leiden.

In October, Sophie Starrenburg was elected as a member of the Coordinating Committee of the ESIL Interest Group on the International Law of Culture. She will work alongside Giovanni Carlo Bruno (Italian National Research Council), Andrzej Jakubowski (Polish Academy of Studies), and Lucas Lixinski (University…

Eric De Brabandere, Professor of International Dispute Settlement, and Director of the Grotius Centre for International Legal Studies has just published the 7th Edition of the handbook Merrill’s International Dispute Settlement. The previous editions of this seminal handbook were authored by the late…

The opening of the Service Centre for International Staff on 19 January signals a higher level of support for international staff. The Service Centre in the main administration building at Rapenburg 70 will be open every morning, ready to answer any questions.

Max Bader has been awarded a € 300,000 grant by the WOTRO Science for Global Development of NWO for a project about the role of civil society in fighting corruption in Ukraine. The project will be implemented jointly with the National University of Kyiv-Mohyla Academy in Kyiv.

Rick van Well has won the 2018 Thesis Prize of the research master’s programme Political Science and Public Administration. Offering an insight into the hiatus of the literature on government-parliament relations, as well conducting an extensive empirical study on the working of local councils, Van…

The International Reynard Society studies the role of animals in the European literature of the Middle Ages and its afterlife. It focuses especially on beast epics, fables, and fabliaux. The 24th international colloquium of the Society – Of Foxes and Fish: Interdisciplinary Approaches to Medieval Animal…

Carsten Stahn has just published Confronting Colonial Objects: Histories, Legalities and Access to Culture. The book is part of the OUP Cultural Heritage Law and Policy Series.

We are glad to present our new research report on Exploring the Frontiers of International Law (EFIL). International Law has traditionally been one of the flagship areas of the Leiden Law School. The report provides a taste of our rich research agenda in international law.

Over the next three years, 92 students and researchers from Leiden University and its partner universities will be strengthening their research and teaching links: all 14 projects that Leiden University submitted to the EU’s International Credit Mobility programme have been awarded a grant. Three ex…

During the annual graduation ceremony, not only were the Bachelor's students in Political Science honoured, but also those students who had written exceptional theses. The thesis prizes reward work that excels in originality, social relevance and academic quality. This year's winners are Ronny Wijling…

During the opening of the academic year, true to tradition the LUC Teaching Prize will be awarded to the University's best lecturer. Get to know the nominees. This week: Florian Schneider.

Over fifty international students celebrated last Christmas at the homes of staff or students of Leiden University. As part of the Holiday Hosting Programme, the students were invited for Christmas dinner.

Violence during war often involves upswings and downturns that have, to date, been insufficiently explained. Why does violence at a particular point in time increase in intensity and why do actors in war decrease the level of violence at other points? Duyvesteyn discusses the potential explanatory variables…

All Political Science graduates have good reasons to be proud of themselves, having successfully completed their studies and having demonstrated considerable personal growth. This October, fifteen bachelor students can be extra proud: their theses were nominated for a thesis prize. In the class of 2023,…

For the first time in the history of the Van den Berg prize, there are two winners: the ‘traditional’ one for the best thesis by a student in the Dutch bachelor’s programmes in Political Science, and, as of 2020, one for a graduate from the International Relations and Organisations (IRO) specialisation.…

Urgent sociatal challenges such as global warming, international security and migration can not be solved by national parliaments. The House of Representatives loses control over problems that are being tackled at European level. The recommendations of the state commission are inadequate.

Teba al-Samarai has won the Political Science Master’s Thesis Prize 2018. Teba’s study deals with the distinction between ‘allochtoon’ and ‘autochtoon’, and how these terms are understood by various kinds of foreign- and local-born subjects in the Netherlands.

This video accompanies the article "Navigating Discretion: A Diplomatic Practice in Moments of Socio-political Rupture", published in Vol. 14, Issue 4 of The Hague Journal of Diplomacy.

Lecture, Lunch Research Seminar

Utrecht University and Université catholique de Louvain organize a workshop (1 February 2023, Utrecht) on good governance in the late-medieval city (1200-1600). This workshop invites researchers from different disciplines (history, literary studies, history of art and architecture, political philosophy,…

In the context of the summer school "Medieval Religon" prof. Christopher M. Bellitto (Kean University) will give a keynote lecture on June 26th: "Politics and Religion in the Middle Ages and Today: Thoughts of an American Medievalist". This lecture is also open to those interested who do not participate…

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

On 1 and 2 September, colleagues of Leiden Law School participated in the very first International ELS Conference, organised by the ELS Academy in Amsterdam.

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

If you're in Leiden this week, you can't miss the large groups of international students exploring the city. The Orientation Week Leiden (OWL) - the twice-yearly introduction week for international students - started on Tuesday 24 January, this time with more than 400 new students. ‘Every second building…

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,…

Out of sight of national parliaments, the European Union takes decisions that have a far-reaching effect on the lives of citizens. Professor of International Governance Kutsal Yesilkagit calls for more thorough research on how cross-border forms of governance work and how politicians direct their civil…

With its FestivOWL theme, Orientation Week Leiden (OWL) promises to be one big festival for new international students in Leiden.

In the 2020 presidential elections, voters in several, mostly southern, electoral districts of the United States saw ‘their’ polling stations closed by the local authorities. In order to cast their vote, they had to travel further or use the mail ballot. Media reports and civil rights activitsts often…

Valentina Carraro presented her paper at the workshop ‘Collective agency of international institutions’, University of Bamberg, 6-7 October 2022.

Professor Isabelle Duyvesteyn will be the new programme chair of International Studies. As of 1 September, she will be at the helm of the largest programme of the Faculty of Humanities.