On 16 December 2019, Jan-Harm de Villiers defended his thesis 'The Anthropomorphic Hegemony of Subjectivity: Critical Reflections on Law and the Question of the Animal'. The doctoral research was supervised by Prof. P. Cliteur.

The Grotius Centre for International Legal Studies continues Leiden University’s long and outstanding tradition in the study and teaching of public international law.

Essays in Honour of Olivier P. Nieuwenhuyse

The field and the classroom invites ethnographers to engage with critical and engaged pedagogies. Breaking down the barriers between fieldsite and lecture hall, this research cluster aims to interrogate the structures and values that shape anthropological and sociological education today.

The Intelligence and Security research group focuses on intelligence and security within the European Union. Its approach is interdisciplinary and reflects ISGA’s broad perspective, combining insights from ethics, history, law, political science, psychology, and sociology.

This book examines the critical role of information and knowledge in early modern Europe's global pursuits, exploring challenges in trusting distant information, the development of doubt in intercultural encounters, and the impact of misinformation.

In the specialisation in Modern Languages you will explore the structure, acquisition, history and use of one or more of these five languages in depth: Chinese, English, French, German and/or Italian.

Many conflicts in Africa have been studied and described as location and time bound. Yet conflict is rarely confined and contained, and instead reaches across communities, borders, and generations.

The sustainability upgrade of the University Library (UB) is well under way. The building now has entirely new façade glazing with HR++ glass, as well as two new glazed roof domes. The climate-control system has also been modified, enabling low-temperature heating and enabling the building for connection…

Expand your knowledge, gain international experience, and explore global challenges. From summer schools and online courses to virtual exchanges, Leiden University students at all levels (bachelor’s and master’s students, and PhD candidates) can participate in a range of learning opportunities.

The War, Peace, and Justice (WPJ) research group brings together leading social scientists, researchers, teachers, and both current and former leaders and practitioners to explore cutting-edge issues in war, conflict, peace, and justice.

Conference

This lecture will be hosted on Thursday, 11 June 2026 at 6:00 pm.

Leiden professors Dirk Bouwmeester and Irene Groot are jointly investigating the concept of a circular power plant. Research that contributes to new solutions for storing surplus renewable energy, generating electricity during periods of power shortage, and recycling CO₂.

Continuous optimization is never easy: the exact solution is always a luxury demand and the theory of it is not always analytical and elegant.

The human body consists of hundreds, perhaps thousands of different types of cells, each with different morphologies and functions, despite having the same genome.

Reijer Passchier, hoogleraar digitalisering en de democratische rechtsstaat aan de OU en universitair docent staatsrecht in Leiden, sprak op 26 mei voor de Commissie Digitalisering van de Eerste Kamer, tijdens een deskundigenbijeenkomst over de weerbaarheid van de democratische rechtstaat in tijden…

Image from ESOF Forum programme page.

The Leiden Centre for East African Law (LEAC) has been awarded a grant of €25.000 by the EU delegation to the East African Community (EAC) and the Secretariat of the EAC.

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…

Het nieuwe kabinet is uniek, met vier coalitiepartijen en een niet gekozen minister-president. Hoogleraar Staats- en Bestuursrecht Wim Voermans analyseert het kabinet in een opiniestuk voor het NRC, en beschrijft een instabiele en ongekende situatie.

Intimate Legal Interactions (ILI) is an interdisciplinary and international group of scholars who share an interest in laws governing intimate relationships – such as marriage and civil partnership, divorce, birth, death, parenthood, childcare, sexual/romantic relationships, and caring relationships…

Scientists widely agree that we must limit global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius to avoid catastrophic climate impacts. Environmental scientist Laura Scherer investigates how we should change lifestyles to achieve this temperature goal. Her research is part of the 4.8-million-euro Horizon 2020 project…

Central to Nuranisa’s PhD project is the cultural diplomacy practiced by the Javanese courts of central Java (Surakarta, Yogyakarta, Pakualaman and Mangkunegaran) in response to the increasing Dutch colonial power in the 19th and early 20th century.

De Nationale ombudsman en verschillende experts, waaronder Fatma Capkurt, universitair docent staats en bestuursrecht, uiten voor de NOS felle kritiek op kabinetsplannen om te bezuinigen op de Wet proactieve dienstverlening SZW. Met name door het onderdeel algemene bijstand te schrappen worden de allerarmsten…

Lecture

How can a society protect itself from cyber threats? Sixty talented young researchers and professionals are learning more about this at the International Cyber Security Summer School in The Hague.

In this ‘Educatips’ column, Psychology lecturers share their most important lessons about teaching. This month: Sepideh Saadat guides a support group for students who struggle with the Israel-Hamas war. ‘Some of them feel guilty about enjoying life while their family is suffering.’

Research by Leiden University Medical Center (LUMC), The Hague University of Applied Sciences and Erasmus University Rotterdam shows that about 15 percent of Dutch people do not want to be vaccinated. If better use were made of the knowledge of local professionals such as GPs, it would be easier to…

Pieter Omtzigt, leader of the ‘Nieuw Sociaal Contract’ (‘New Social Contract’) party, has withdrawn from talks to form a new Dutch government. Government finances are a divisive issue, and Ronald Plasterk’s decision to withhold documents on government finances seems to have particularly broken trust.…

Companies are increasingly being urged to not only generate financial returns, but also to consider the public interest. Tom Barkhuysen, Professor of Administrative Law and partner at law firm Stibbe, spoke about the role of the government at a conference on the lawyer as a trusted advisor in the boardroom.…

Alanna O'Malley, Associate Professor at Leiden University Institute for History, talks about the possible expelling of the Russian ambassador Yuriy Filatov and the risks that come with the decision.

The effects on local government of the financial crisis that began in 2007 are still largely unknown. As a case study, Jan Porth conducted statistical analyses of the implications for Dutch municipal finances. The crisis became most apparent in the sale of municipal land to private companies and households.…

Comparing gazes between Turin and other cities in the global north.

Lecture, Workshop

Debate, Student Course Presentations

The Faculties of Leiden University have developed several themes for research cooperation between Leiden University and its Indonesian partners.

Dr Gül Aktürk Hauser (Assistant Professor, Department of Heritage and Society, Faculty of Archaeology) and Dr Sophie Starrenburg (Assistant Professor, Grotius Centre for International Legal Studies, Leiden Law School) organised a workshop titled ‘An Interdisciplinary Perspective on Heritage Reparations:…

In order to create a better understanding of the role of the province in the future, Geerten Boogaard, Professor of Local Government at Leiden University, shed light on the subject in Dutch newspaper 'Algemeen Dagblad'. With the upcoming council elections and ongoing issues such as nitrogen emissions,…

Following the recent debate on the formation of a new Dutch government, there seems to be no clear definition of an extra parliamentary cabinet. Wim Voermans, Professor of Constitutional Law, discusses this in Dutch magazine ‘Vrij Nederland’ (VN).

How did rulers in the Netherlands and in adjacent smaller German territories adapt their regimes to ongoing change in legitimacy and decision-making during the transition period 1780-1820?