Last week, Humanities Lab honours students presented their research through creative posters and pitches at the Capstone Conference in PLNT Leiden. It was a special edition, where alumni and teachers reminisced over the programme’s 10-year history.

During the Cold War, 35 states sat down at the table and negotiated for three years – with results. Lecturer Kai Hebel sees the Helsinki Final Act (1975) as the inspirational example of successful negotiations between hostile states.

The Board of Leiden University has appointed Armin Cuyvers as a full professor of European Law, specifically EU Constitutional Law and Comparative Regional Integration, effective per 1 September 2021.

Students used to live with a landlady or even with the professor whose course they were taking. Student accommodation has since become more professional, making it something the new government will have to tackle. What should the new government do?

Over 20,000 students, lecturers, administrators, support staff and many others protested on 25 November against the plans to make billions of cuts to higher education. Students and staff from Leiden University also travelled to The Hague to voice their objections to the disastrous plans.

On 1 July – Keti Koti, in the year ahead, our university community will be able to reflect extensively on the history of slavery by engaging in research, education and many other activities.

Prof. dr. ir. Bas Rietjens of the Dutch Defense Academy (NLDA) has been appointed Professor by special appointment Intelligence in War and Conflict at Leiden University’s Institute for Security and Global Affairs (ISGA). The appointment of Rietjens is the result of a more intensive collaboration between…

Sacrificing yourself for the greater good: in China, martyrdom and hero worship have been strongly encouraged by the Communist Party for the past decade or so. University lecturer Vincent Chang tells us more about this far-reaching development.

The FIFA World Cup will get underway in Qatar this November – an event that has attracted much discussion in recent years. This discussion is not only centred on sport. Human rights are in the spotlights in Qatar. On Friday 30 September, Leiden University organised a debate in which experts from various…

Sarah Cramsey was appointed professor by special appointment of Central European Studies at the Institute of History on 14 September. 'I am keen to incorporate different scholarly approaches into my work and raise the profile of Central European Studies in Leiden.'

What would it be like if you could work with the best in your field every day? Alumnus in International Studies Niels Drost knows just what that’s like. He currently works as a junior researcher at the Clingendael Institute.

After almost 18 months of following lectures alone in their rooms, many students are going back to face-to-face classes for the first time. And the same is true for the lecturers. How do people feel about it? We went to Leiden Law School to find out. ‘For a whole year, I’ve been watching lectures in…

Workshop brings multidisciplinary experts together to produce interdisciplinary outcomes on the EU’s Proposal for a Regulation to prevent and combat child sexual abuse.

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.

What with coronavirus, the American elections and the Brexit botheration, we had almost forgotten that something miraculous happened in 2020: the repressed people of Belarus rallied against dictator Alexander Lukashenko, who has been in power for 26 years. Months later, what remains of the protest?…

Alumni who live and work in Brussels met on 18 February at the annual Leiden Alumni in Brussels Event. As well as celebrating Leiden University’s 450th anniversary, they also looked at the challenges Europe faces.

Being a student member of the faculty board? Ebrar Kaya fulfilled this role last year as assessor of the Faculty of Humanities. In September, Anne Wellink took over from him. In this interview, we look back and ahead at the assessorship with them.

Laughing, crying or even having a moan together: close friends are worth their weight in gold in good and bad times. Researcher Lisa Schreuders explains the effects on body and mind. Can we give that magical click a helping hand? And what advice does she have for first-years in their new city?

Annette Righolt, Honours Coordinator at FGGA, and Mira Basta, Public Administration student, tell you more.

What does it mean to be the ‘perfect student’? This is the focus of the Perspectify exhibition, which was opened on 16 November by President of the Executive Board Annetje Ottow.

In the upcoming months, we’ll talk to students of the FGGA faculty who have finished their internship. What did the internships bring them? And what kind of work did they do? In this interview we speak with Justin Spuit, a Master’s student Political Science: Dutch Politics and International Relations:…

Leiden Law Cast is a podcast made by Leiden Law School, Leiden University, for everyone who wants to learn more about current legal issues.

When Floris Harm took up his role as director of the Leiden Asia Centre, he made a remarkable discovery on the university website. It turned out that a past family member was one of Leiden University’s first sinologists.

The United States used threats to influence the nuclear programs of Iran, Libya and South Africa. How effective was this diplomatic coercion?

On 17 February 2024, Leiden University's Scheltema building was abuzz with the energy of the annual MSc International Relations and Diplomacy (MIRD) Re-Connect Gala. This year's event marked a joyous return to in-person gatherings, bringing together 200 students, employees, and esteemed alumni of the…

On 2 September 2022, 300 students received their Bachelor Diploma of International Studies. The students were awarded their diplomas in the historic Pieterskerk in Leiden, in front of a large audience of family and friends. With about 1000 people present, including the graduates, the International Studies…

Gijs Zebregts had just graduated from International Studies when he was stricken with acute leukaemia. A stem cell donor brought relief. Now he is going to cycle from Florence to Rotterdam to raise money and awareness for the donor bank.

Charlotte Vrendenbarg is Assistant Professor intellectual property rights (IP) at Leiden University. She was recently sworn in as deputy judge at the District Court of The Hague, exactly 30 years after her mother was installed as a judge in Breda. ‘Following in her footsteps was not a goal in itself,…

Research into our history of colonialism and slavery, heart-to-heart conversations at a Keti Koti table, exhibitions, lectures and podcasts that establish the link between present and past. Staff and students participated in the national Slavery Memorial Year in many different ways. What have we learned…

Jasper Knoester is the dean of the Faculty of Science. How is he doing, what exactly does he do and what does his day look like? In each newsletter, Jasper gives an insight into his life.

‘We want to say something very different from the norm. We are the radicals now.’ Tahir Abbas is lyric about the DRIVE project he will be leading from Leiden University in The Hague. This is a short introduction to the research that will be carried out in the Netherlands, Denmark, Norway and the United…

Four projects led by the Faculty of Humanities have been awarded KIEM grants. The researchers will receive €10,000 to carry out their plans.

The rise of extremism in Europe has increased polarisation. The EU-funded DRIVE project, led by Tahir Abbas, Professor of Radicalisation Studies from Leiden University’s Institute of Security and Global Affairs, explores how social, structural, and individual factors contribute to radicalisation, offering…

There has been a lot of media attention for the report recently completed by the Institute of Environmental Sciences (CML) from Leiden University. However, it has long been known that Dutch surface water contains too many toxic pesticides. ‘We will have to improve our ways of life together with many…

Students and staff from Leiden University are protesting in The Hague on 25 November against the billions in cuts to higher education. ‘The cuts are a terrible idea and we want to show why’, says Claire Weeda from WOinActie. ‘Research and teaching are essential to society.’

That the tax authorities are allowed to impose taxes is widely known. What is less well known is when the tax authorities must impose taxes. And what to do when one set of regulations requires the tax authorities to impose taxes while other regulations prevent them from doing exactly that? Vergouwen’s…

Tensions are rising between Russia and the West. Can an invasion of Ukraine and an international war be avoided? Political scientist and Russia expert Hans Oversloot warns of the consequences if the West chooses a collision course. ‘Offer Russia a dignified exit strategy.’

Life cycle assessment (LCA) reveals the total environmental impact of products or production processes, and EU rules are going to make this even more important.

How can you persuade researchers who are used to conducting research within clearly defined disciplines to adopt an interdisciplinary approach? Newly appointed distinguished professor Arnold Tukker explained.

Lecture

Debate, Panel Discussion

The rise of authoritarianism, the strengthening of the radical right, and the role of the EU in defending democracy—these are just a few of the issues causing concern today. Is the EU capable of defending democratic values within the Union and beyond its borders? In an interview from the Lithuanian…

2021 was an eventful year once again for the Faculty of Governance and Global Affairs (FGGA). Hybrid, working from home, online education, on-campus education, face masks, self-tests, keeping distance, quarantine and the coronavirus. Words that have now become a standard part of our vocabulary when…

Lunch Seminar

Book presentation

Debate

Lecture

Lecture

Lecture