On Friday 3rd February 2017 Leiden University hosted a PhD colloquium in conjunction with the University of Liverpool and the University of Oslo, on the topic of ‘Law and Politics in the European Union’. As part of the Interaction between Legal Systems 2.0 project, the colloquium presentations focused…

Over the course of the 20th century, politicians increasingly came to rely on experts. Their language was peppered with terms like ‘policy pathways’ and ‘evaluation frameworks’. This made debates more abstract and less ideological.

Increasing the efficiency of gene targeting (GT) as a genome editing tool in plants has been an important goal in plant biotechnology.

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

Under what circumstances do paramilitary groups limit their use of political violence? This article examines the use of political violence by the PIRA.

In what ways do historical and current events affect how we should judge the legitimacy of political authorities?

Amorphophallus decus-silvae, or the ‘penis plant’ as it is known, has just flowered at the Hortus botanicus. It flowered for two days, and then the pollen, which the male flowers produced was collected. As far as the plant experts at the Hortus can tell, this was just the third time that this species…

Dutch politics has long been a paragon of stability. Think, for example, of our party system until, say, the last decade. At the same time, we also see occasional changes and significant shifts. Society has changed and this is reflected in, among other things, how we vote and how policy is made. About…

Are you thinking about studying Political Science? Watch the introduction video’s and learn more!

Profile Area Political Legitimacy, Leiden University

Fluctuations in individual plant communities contribute to the stability of an ecosystem as a whole, a study published in Ecology Letters shows. Nadia Soudzilovskaia and colleagues for the first time used data from plant communities across five continents to prove this hypothesis.

This volume challenges the idea that the development of ‘democracy’ is a story of rise and progress at all. It is rather a story of continuous but never completely satisfying attempts of interpreting the rule of the people.

At the Institute of Political Science we value our alumni. We can learn from you, and would like to contribute to your further development. And, of course, we want to lend a hand in connecting ‘our’ political scientists all over the world.

At almost midway through, the “Stoeplanten” (Pavement Plants) citizen science project has been very successful. This research was initiated by Nienke Beets, who while working for the Science Communication and Society research group and Hortus Botanicus, gave her contribution to the Stoeplanten proje…

In this paper, Sibgatullina and Abbas aim to illuminate the complex connections between the European right-wing movements and Islam and discusses how the adoption of Muslim identity may function as a politically strategic opportunity for European conservative forces.

Promotor: H.J.M. de Groot, Co-Promotor: A. Alia

The aim of this project is to study what makes an act or form of violence a specifically political reality.

And its application in deciphering hominin diets in palaeolithic eurasia

The Basics and Applications to Plant Sciences will be held physical. See below for more information.

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…

For nine years he worked on the three-volume standard work Plant Galls of Europe. It yielded 2300 pages about 10,000 species of European galls, abnormal outgrowths in plants caused by parasites. Hans Roskam from the Institute of Biology Leiden: ‘The abundance of galls says something about the natural…

Research on Asian plants is his life's work. Now a crown is added to that: a plant from the coffee family bearing his name. Paul Kessler is LUF professor of botanical gardens and botany of South East Asia and Scientific Director of the Hortus botanicus. 'Completely unexpectedly, you get to see the results…

Optimality in plant properties and processing.

Choice is at the very heart of politics. War or peace, left or right, liberty or security, sovereignty or integration, consensus or conflict—choices matter. Choice is also key to your education. Choose an intellectually challenging programme in which you develop your knowledge and expertise in the study…

Political and social implications of life in a digital age.

The rapidly increasing commercial application of metallic nanoparticles within products will inevitably enhance the amount of NPs being released into soil.

The specialisation Culture and Politics of the Master’s in International Relations at Leiden University encourages critical perspectives on complexities of culture as an inextricable part of global politics.

The MSc Dutch Politics at Leiden University offers in-depth insight into contemporary political dynamics in the Netherlands, including parties, public policy, governance, and societal challenges.

This article presents two related arguments. First, the limits of doctrinal analysis cut deeper than many EU lawyers realise. Most would probably accept that legal doctrine does not determine every legal dispute, but lawyers studying EU institutional balance often still assume that it can be deduced…

The Center participates in East European Politics, one of the major political science journals focusing on the contemporary post-communist space.

The Centre for Political Philosophy (CPP) at Leiden University is an interdisciplinary platform for political thought. It aims to bring together all those with an active interest in the field from different institutes, branches and fields of study at Leiden University.

The Politics and Governance department of the Institute of Public Administration focuses on the complex interaction between politics and governance. Our research explores contemporary issues such as the impact of global crises, populism, and polarisation at various levels of government.

The specialisation Global Political Economy of the master’s in International Relations at Leiden University provides you with a cutting-edge understanding of the world economy and its social and political foundations.

What makes some international organisations more likely to succumb to crises where others manage to survive or even thrive? And what can international organisations do to become resilient and withstand existential challenges? Political Scientist Gisela Hirschmann (Leiden University) studied the example…

The Netherlands is losing plant species that rely on pollination by insects. Leiden environmental scientist Kaixuan Pan demonstrates this after analysing 87 years of measurements from over 365,000 plots. The news is alarming for our biodiversity and food security. ‘75 per cent of our crops and 90% of…

Are you thinking about studying European Politics and Society? Learn more and watch the programme presentation.

Politics and Aesthetics is one of the six research themes of the LUCAS Modern and Contemporary cluster.

Explore the MSc in International Politics at Leiden University: a one‑year programme focused on international conflict, crisis management, diplomacy and global cooperation.

This book concentrates on the regulation of political parties in the EU post-communist democracies, and on Bulgaria, Croatia, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Slovakia, Slovenia and Romania, in particular.

Let’s get this out of the way: Hillary Clinton won the 26 September 2016 presidential candidates television debate. Handily.