What political factors affect the speed or duration of EU legislative decision-making?

In this article, Gerrit Dijkstra and Jos Raadschelders from the Institute of Public Administration, argue that Bosnia-Herzegovina survives so far on the basis of negative legitimacy.

The Dutch Open Government Act (Wet open overheid (Woo)) has been in effect for several months now. Yet various government authorities were in the news recently due to violations of the right to information. Newspaper Trouw investigated whether political unwillingness is on the rise.

From 1 January 2016 Faculty Campus The Hague will have a new name: the Faculty of Governance and Global Affairs (FGGA). This new name is a logical blend of the elements that make up the faculty.

In an opinion piece in Dutch newspaper NRC, Corné Smit, teaching and research staff member at the Department of Constitutional and Administrative Law, discusses the possibilities and possible advantages of a minority government.

On 19 May 2022, Jan Aart Scholte gave a keynote lecture on ‘Legitimacy in Internet Governance’ for a workshop at the European University Institute, Florence, Italy.

On February 1, Utrecht University organizes an international workshop on good governance in the late medieval city (1200-1600).

Reijer Passchier, hoogleraar digitalisering en de democratische rechtsstaat aan de Open Universiteit en universitair docent staatsrecht in Leiden, waarschuwt in een opiniestuk in de Volkskrant, voor de alsmaar toenemende invloed van grote technologiebedrijven ten koste van de democratische rechtssta…

Global challenges require global governance answers. For that reason, between 5 and 7 June, the interdisciplinary research programme Global Transformations and Governance Challenges (GTGC) has selected 'Emerging trends in global governance' as the theme of its annual conference. Researchers, students…

The chaotic years after the Civil War are often seen as a time of uniquely American idealism—a revolutionary attempt to rebuild the nation that paved the way for the civil rights movement of the twentieth century. But Adam Fairclough rejects this prevailing view, challenging prominent historians such…

Neither technology, nor Pan-Islamism, but only the codification of law could prevent Iran from falling even further behind the Western world. So wrote the 19th century intellectual Mustashar ad-Dowla in his tract Yak Kaleme. The translation of this work was presented in Amsterdam on 8 December.

The Role of Law in Libya’s National Reconciliation (RoLLNaR) was a research project that ran from 2017 to 2020. It identified and assessed the role of law – both actual and potential, enabling and constraining – with regard to major challenges of reconciliation in Libya. The project was led by Dr. Suliman…

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.

China is a one-party regime, yet elections are held for the local congresses. PhD candidate Wang Zhongyuan investigated how the Communist Party uses this democratic instrument to strengthen the authoritarian regime. PhD defence 31 January.

In her teaching and research, Mosquera primarily seeks the connection between tax law and other disciplines. Her appointment is effective as of 1 November 2021.

This book describes the changing roles of traditional authorities in combatting contemporary security challenges.

Sarah Giest, Assistant Professor at Leiden Univeristy, researched the topic of regulatory and market structures that affect nudge implementation by private actors, captured by the ‘budge’ idea.

This Think20 (T20) policy brief recommends the introduction of a

Boundaries in the collaboration between private and public interests are more blurred in the US than Europe, says Reijer Passchier, Professor of Digitalisation and the Democratic Constitutional State at the Open University and Assistant Professor in Constitutional Law in Leiden, in ‘de Volkskrant’.

On 11 March, Oliver Rathkolb (University of Vienna) held a lecture about Social Democracy.

For students who want to be an intermediary between scientific experts, policy makers and politicians in the domain of sustainability, the master programme Governance of Sustainabiliy might be just what they are looking for. Leiden University intends to start this new The Hague based programme in September…

How does the design of online participation platforms influence the inclusivity of online direct participation?

Many people wish for political transparency in The Hague. However, political philosopher Dorota Mokrosinska argues in an article in the Dutch newspaper Trouw that there are certain advantages to political secrecy. She states that politicians are better at compromising with one another behind closed…

The Netherlands Open Government Action Plan was recently presented to the Dutch House of Representatives. One of the action points in the plan relates to research to be conducted by Annemarie Drahmann, Louis Honée and Ymre Schuurmans, all staff at the Department of Constitutional and Administrative…

17 November 2021. Jan Aart Scholte and co-researcher Hortense Jongen presented their work on 'Institutional Sources of Legitimacy in Multistakeholder Governance at ICANN' at the annual conference of the Netherlands Institute of Governance in Utrecht.

Do you have to be able to say everything on Twitter and Facebook? Is Instagram morally obliged to remove photos from attacks? Should we allow the terrorist group to recruit new members on the internet?

Facilitating direct citizen participation through online channels is considered as an opportunity for including harder to reach groups in participation.

On 29 November 2022, Jan Aart Scholte and colleagues presented the project 'Digital Data: Polycentric Governance Perspectives' at the United Nations Internet Governance Forum in Addis Ababa. Click here to find out more about the event.

We live in a data-drenched society awash with numbers. An inhabitant of the democratic polis of Athens (5th and 4th centuries B.C.E.) increasingly found himself surrounded by numerical data. This project aims to analyze the communicative functions and the political meaning(s) ascribed to these public…

Lecture, Studium Generale

The Executive Board has decided to appoint Dr. Bibi van den Berg as Professor of Cybersecurity Governance within the Institute of Security and Global Affairs, starting on 1 September 2017.

Reijer Passchier, universitair docent staatsrecht en hoogleraar digitalisering en de democratische rechtsstaat (OU), reageert in het FTM scherp op de recente gang van zaken rond de rolverdeling in Nederlandse digitaliseringsstrategie.

In this article, the authors explore why there is substantial cross-national variation in the level of regulatory clarity surrounding cryptocurrencies

On 1 June 2022, Bruno Braak defended his thesis entitled 'Overcoming ruptures: Zande identity, governance, and tradition during cycles of war and displacement in South Sudan and Uganda (2014-2019).' The doctoral research was supervised by Prof.dr. J.M. Otto, Dr.ir. C.I.M. Jacobs, and Dr. C. Leonardi…

The past decade, against the backdrop of a fragmented political landscape, has witnessed the greatest changes to the Netherlands since the aftermath of the Second World War. The labour market, the housing market, the energy market, the bank system, the pension system, the healthcare system, to name…

Are you considering a master’s degree in 2025? Join our Governance of Migration and Diversity (LL.M.) Online Webinar on 16 December!

Past event: On 21 April 2023 Jan Aart Scholte and colleagues presented their report Global Governance: Fit for Purpose? to 80 policy practitioners in Stockholm at the headquarters of SNS, Center for Business and Policy Studies.

In this article, Madeleine O. Hosli and Wen Pan examine how intergovernmental dynamics shaped the European Stability Mechanism, using Liberal Intergovernmentalism to assess negotiation phases, the influence of major member states, and which theoretical assumptions hold or need qualification.

This article explores the concept of issue prioritisation within the context of public administration research, focusing on decision-making processes.

While transparency has become the constant refrain of democratic politics, executive branch officials consistently seek to insulate their activities from public scrutiny.

From 16 to 20 June 2025, the Institute of Security and Global Affairs of Leiden University hosted the annual Summer School The European Union, the United Nations and Global Governance in The Hague. The programme brought together recent graduates, PhD students, and young professionals from a variety…

Beloftes van lokale partijen om asielzoekerscentra te sluiten, gemeenten die dwangsommen aan het COA willen opleggen en de vraag hoe onze rechtsstaat te beschermen tegen autoritaire invloeden met de opkomst van extreem radicaal rechtse partijen: Geerten Boogaard aan het woord in verschillende media.

Here you'll find selected publications and media attention from our group.

In this special edition of Information Polity there is a focus on the transparency challenges of using algorithms in government in decision-making procedures at the macro-, meso-, and micro-levels.