On Monday 10 December, the Polish Commissioner for Human Rights dr. Adam Bodnar delivered the eighth Raymond and Beverly Sackler Distinguished Lecture on Human Rights at Leiden Law School. The event marked the annual celebration of International Human Rights Day, which was proclaimed to commemorate…

The leading textbook on governance and politics in the Netherlands. The authors offer a clear and comprehensive account and have revised the text to provide full coverage of recent important developments.

Jessica Vance Roitman and Wouter Veenendaal, researchers at the KITLV/Royal Netherlands Institute of Southeast Asian and Caribbean Studies, investigate the origins, development, and consolidation of political oligarchy in the Caribbean island nation of St. Maarten.

Lecture, PCNI Research Seminar

Lecture

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…

It rarely happens: halting a decision by walking out of a meeting. ‘But there’s nothing wrong with it from a constitutional law perspective,’ says Geerten Boogaard, Professor by Special Appointment of Local Government, in ‘Leidsch Dagblad’.

It is often claimed that social media can contribute to democratic decision-making by bringing politicians and citizens into dialogue with one another. But is this potential always realised, and how? Most researchers look at politicians and their online communication strategies. In this New Media &…

How interest groups, differences in policy issues and institutional differences between countries affect whether public opinion is translated into policy?

The idea of citizens and public professionals collaborating to provide public services has widely spread in several countries around the globe. Co-production is often presented as the go-to solution for challenges like a legitimacy crisis of both the government and the market, and financial concerns.…

On 10 October 2019, Janneke Vink defended her thesis 'The Open Society and Its Animals'. The doctoral research was supervised by Prof. P.B. Cliteur.

Lecture, Seminar

Lecture

On 14 January 2021, Joost Westerweel defended his thesis 'Lokale democratische innovatie'. The doctoral research was supervised by Prof. G. Boogaard and Prof. M.J. Cohen.

Profile Area Political Legitimacy, Leiden University

Lecture, Panel Discussion

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

In this specialisation you will focus on the challenges facing modern representative democracy. The programme offers a structured, intensive curriculum balancing substantive and skills-oriented courses, including a number of elective seminars, plus a research thesis.

Governments in parliamentary democracies have limited time in office to fulfill their policy agendas. So, how do they optimise the timing of legislative bills to assure their passage and avoid lengthy parliamentary scrutiny? This question is especially puzzling under coalition governments, in which…

Do you have a question about student life in Leiden and The Hague, studying at Leiden University or do you want more information about the Political Science master’s programme? You can get in contact with a student from this programme directly!

Law and peace in the work of Hans Kelsen. A re-evaluation of Kelsen’s legal philosophy: legal pacifism as tacit meaning of his Pure Theory of Law

In this programme, you will follow a core course and thesis seminar on democracy and representation, as well as elective seminars. Furthermore, you will work on your academic and professional skills, as well as acquaint yourself with the state-of-the-art in Political Science.

The eleven innovative essays in this volume explore the notion that all forms of modern mass politics, including liberal democracies, need such a form of sacralization of politics to function.

The Economist published an article about a working paper about the effects of democratic elections on satisfaction with democracy. The paper was written by Dimiter Koshkov, Associate Professor at the Institute of Public Administration and Honorata Mazepus, Assistant Professor at the Institute of Security…

Conference

On May 13, prof. Tom R. Tyler (Yale Law School) will hold a lecture at Leiden Law School on

During the coronavirus years 2020 and 2021, Dutch citizens became poorer, more anxious, less free and more rebellious. The State gained more power and entered the lives of citizens in all manner of ways to protect their health. Only recently did the State give citizens their freedom back – in part.

Lecture

Lecture, Seminar

Twenty-five young people from all over Europe have come to the Netherlands in the week of the Dutch election to act as election observers. They will learn about Dutch politics and observe in polling stations whether the voting is taking place in line with the rules. Two of them are stationed in Leiden.…

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.

Research project 'QUAD'

Find out how to apply for the master’s specialisation Democracy and Representation at Leiden University by following our step-by-step guide.

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.

Evidence-informed policy-making is crucial for good governance. Yet, despite the abundance of evidence from research and evaluation available to decision-makers, we know little about the actual influence of evidence on government policies. The ‘Power of Evidence’ (PoE) research programme, directed by…

Bastiaan Rijpkema has been appointed Professor by special appointment of the new chair Tolerance at the Faculty of Humanities with effect from 1 July 2021. The chair was established by Stichting Leerstoel Uytenbogaert.

The Belgian elections are over. Now it is up to the formateur to form a cabinet, but that is difficult. Fauke Deceuninck, program leader of Politics and Governance at the Center for Professional Learning, explains to Speechmakers why that is.

PhD defence