As both old and new democracies experience increasing democratic backsliding, there is a critical societal need to rethink the design and effectiveness of democratic checks and balances. In this conference on Friday 9 June, the aim is to explore multidisciplinary insights about what makes the checks…

Chinese Studies, History or Urban Studies? How do you choose the right degree programme for you? Hundreds of prospective students tried to find out at the Bachelor’s Open Day in Leiden and The Hague. A new formula helped them on their way.

Lecture and Exhibition

Film screening and Book Launch

Lecturer Andrew Gawthorpe of Leiden University discusses in The Conversation the growing influence of far-right activist Laura Loomer in Donald Trump’s administration.

On 16 May, three researchers from Leiden University will present their findings on the democratic consequences of decentralisation at a workshop in Leiden. Their research project, Downsize My Democracy?, shows that decentralisation does not automatically lead to a stronger democracy. On the contrary,…

Career and apply for jobs

The left is gaining more and more ground on the political map of Latin America, with the elections in Colombia as the most recent example. But what’s behind this pull to the left? Professor of Modern Latin American History Patricio Silva talks about the current political situation in the region.

Many European citizens feel connected to the European Union and place trust in it, Eva Grosfeld found in her PhD research. Yet around a quarter do not identify with the EU at all. How can the EU regain their trust?

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?…

Last Thursday the Dutch House of Representatives held a debate on children being put into care when the childcare benefits scandal (toeslagenaffaire) had caused problems for their families. Four Leiden University academics were asked by the House to produce a fact sheet for this debate, bringing together…

A flood of news reports, push notifications and even extra news broadcasts: on Wednesday, the world was shocked by the storming of the Capitol in Washington. Americanist Sara Polak discusses the events.

LUCIR presentation and discussion

Magnets for electric cars and wind turbines contain only a small amount of the rare earth metal dysprosium. Yet, this metal is responsible for a large share of the environmental impact and costs, according to research by environmental scientists Stellina Samuel, Robert Istrate and René Kleijn.

Lecture, Research Seminar

The excuses for the slavery past? It would have been better if the cabinet had taken some more time on that, thinks university lecturer and Atlantic slavery expert Karwan Fatah-Black. 'Too bad they didn’t wait for the results of the study.'

Lecture

The war in Ukraine has lasted almost two weeks now. What does Putin expect to achieve with his invasion and how big is the chance that the West will get involved? We phoned André Gerrits, professor and expert on Russia.

Over a century ago, Alexandra van Elroy's great-grandfather left for Japan, where her grandmother was born. Together with her mother, Maaike van der Loon, she reminisces about her family history, through which a key thread is the study of Japanese and Chinese.

Matthew DiGiuseppe, Associate Professor at the Institute of Political Science at Leiden University, has been awarded an NWO XS grant for his project ‘Political Polarization and Public Support for AI Governance’. The project examines whether growing political polarisation affects citizens’ willingness…

Five questions about the event ‘Germany after the Elections: implications for Foreign Policy and European Security’ answered by one of the experts at the event: Joachim Koops. Come by at the Spanish Steps in Wijnhaven on Friday 15 October or join the event online (link below).

A fragmented political landscape, permanent pressure from current affairs and an increasingly political civil service: our government faces many challenges. This makes it all the more difficult to make important decisions about pensions or the climate. Research and good education can help meet the challenges…

Lecture

Students for Palestine – a group of students from Leiden and The Hague – are holding a panel discussion in the Leiden University in The Hague Wijnhaven building on Tuesday 24 May entitled ‘Silencing Palestine’.

Alumni event, Lezing

Suddenly there they were, the Russian soldiers near the border of Ukraine. Since then, reports of tensions between Russia on the one hand and the United States and Europe on the other have dominated the news. What is going on? An interview with Russia expert André Gerrits.

Lecture

In a packed Stadsgehoorzaal, philosopher and Member of the Senate Daan Roovers delivered the 54th Huizinga Lecture. It was a passionate plea for a form of politics thatt is not only about winning, but also about talking and playing.

The Dutch Research Council (NWO) has granted four grants to Leiden humanities scholars. They get to spend this money on research on a topic of their choice, without thematic preconditions.

Do you know what the capital of St Eustatius is? Or which province Curaçao belongs to? No idea? You are not the only one: the majority of European Dutch people know little about the Caribbean islands within the Kingdom of the Netherlands. This is according to a large-scale opinion survey led by political…

Deaf and hard-of-hearing children can find it challenging to blend in during recess on the playground. Yet, in recent studies, two PhD researchers studying children in China and Portugal showed that the emotional development of these children is largely on par with their hearing classmates.