The Institute of Criminal Law and Criminology conducts extensive research on imprisonment. Sending a person to prison is the most severe form of punishment that can be applied in the criminal justice systems of European countries. In most countries, the number of prisoners has risen in recent decades.…

Recent publications in the BLRN book series can be found below.

Stories of resistance in the Second World War are widely covered in Dutch historiography: Hannie Schaft, Erik Hazelhoff Roelfzema, and Professor Cleveringa are some of the best known. But these accounts largely focus on the Dutch domestic perspective. On the other side of the world, a complex colonial…

Students from ‘StudentinzetopSchool’ help schoolchildren and gain valuable teaching experience at the same time. In an online visit on 13 April, Queen Máxima spoke to pupils, students and teaching staff. She also spoke to participants from Leiden. ‘Teaching is wonderful, but it’s complex too.’

Even as a child, Jan Willem Erisman wanted to make things better. As a professor Environmental sustainability, he is therefore also very active outside the university. He is known as the nitrogen professor: in the media all the way to the House of Representatives, he explains the nitrogen problem. Recently,…

Leiden University is celebrating its 450th anniversary in 2025 with a feast for the eyes, ears and spirit. The anniversary year opens with an extra special Dies Natalis on 7 February. Highlights includes an alumni festival, three exhibitions and a canal concert.

Besides the project Conference and Winter School, the Food Citizens? research has profiled in numerous societal and interdisciplinary venues, online and offline, over the last year. Here is a brief summary with linked online resources.

To generate electricity, power plants use huge amounts of water. In Europe and the United States, generating electricity is accountable for 40% of the total water withdrawal. PhD candidate Industrial Ecology Yi Jin devoted his research to the water footprint of power plants and the impact on the environment.…

On Wednesday 16th of May, 2018, two student researchers of the LAPP, Hanna Leisti and Heidi Kaarto, had an opportunity to take part in the High Level Debate ‘Can the Blue Economy Save Our Ocean?’. The event was organised by the Sky and WWF in the premises of the European Parliament in Brussels with…

Leiden during corona, loneliness in the elderly or making the city more sustainable. Students from Leiden University and Leiden University of Applied Sciences are working with the Municipality of Leiden on solutions to societal problems. How is this benefitting society? And where is there room for i…

Coronavirus is generating a great deal of uncertainty throughout the world. Fortunately, there are some bright spots, such as the residents of Italian cities who are in quarantine trying to keep everyone's spirits up with their clapping and singing. Closer to home, Leiden historian Suze Zijlstra took…

An international team of astronomers led by scientists from Leiden Observatory has for the first time characterised a dust disk surrounding a young super-Jupiter, which is either a giant planet or brown dwarf. They detected infrared emission from the disk which might indicate that moons may have formed.…

On 11 May the House of Representatives voted in favour of a law that will enable some sectors to reopen sooner than planned with the aid of test certificates. Political philosopher Josette Daemen is critical of the new legislation. ‘Just because we get used to measures doesn’t make them desirable.’

Two new Assistant Professors are joining Science Based Business (SBB) this Autumn. ‘Xishu Li and Jian Wang are the first two Assistant Professors we recruited. This is an exciting, crucial next step for SBB,’ said Professor Simcha Jong who joined Leiden University as the Director and first Professor…

While offshore wind farms generate clean and green energy, scientists are becoming increasingly aware of the harmful impact they may have on marine life. To get a better overview of these impacts and to find the best locations for future wind farms, environmental scientist Yali Si and her colleagues…

Algae are not what immediately spring to mind when people think of threatened species. But even among algae there are species that have a difficult time, such as ‘Aegagropila linnaei’. In the magazine BioScience Christian Bödeker describes the worldwide decline of this species. He calls for the species…

From receiving our salary to doing our shopping: we are completely dependent on commercial banks for all our payment transactions. But what happens if they collapse? In his inaugural lecture, Professor Bart Joosen calls for a rigorous change: ‘Put payment transactions for private clients under one…

With a Vici grant of 1.5 million euros, Professor of Mathematical biology Roeland Merks will look for ways to fix messy and leaky blood vessels in tumours. His research combines mathematical simulations and lab experiments in a unique way.

Three decades ago, cyber-diplomacy did not exist. The interest in Information and Communication Technology (ICT) as a vector of change in international relations was limited to a few mostly technical organisations, and a restricted number of states.

When assistant professor Jiyan Ilbrink isn't working at the university, she can be found in her vegetable garden. On the plot of land around the corner from her home, she grows the most delicious tomatoes, zucchini, and potatoes.

Kajsa Ollongren, Minister of the Interior and Kingdom Relations, opened a complex of 467 student flats in Leiden on 26 August. This is the (Y)ours development on the sustainable ‘Leidse Schans’ campus at Lammenschans train station.

The Hague Journal of Diplomacy regularly publishes reviews of recent books within the field of diplomacy and global affairs, written in English, Spanish, French, or German.

The LUCDH foster the development of new digital research by awarding a number of Small Grants each year. As in previous years the LUCDH received a large number of excellent grant applications for Research and Personal Development funds. Congratulations to the recipients of this year's research award…

In his leaving interview, Martijn Ridderbos doesn’t have to think long when asked what he is most proud of. ‘Bringing people together; creating things together. Reducing the gap between researchers and the staff who support them because the latter are essential. We’ve achieved that and the seeds have…

No two pandemics are ever the same. The current coronavirus crisis, for instance, is clearly very different from the deadly plague outbreaks in the 14th and 15th centuries. Can historians learn anything from the coronavirus crisis? And what can we learn at the moment from historians? These are questions…

The Ministry of Health seems to be going full steam ahead in the search for a track-and-trace app to contain the coronavirus crisis. The apps are being developed with irresponsible haste, according to Valerie Frissen, Professor of Digital Technologies and Social Change.

Lecture

Paul Christiaan Flu, originally from Surinam, was a brilliant tropical doctor, who in 1938 rose to the position of Rector Magnificus of Leiden University. The war years brought his lightning career to an abrupt end: his son was murdered and he himself was imprisoned in a concentration camp. A sad family…

Lecture

All countries have turned into a global no-go zone and in the Covid-19 crisis flying citizens back home is an unprecedented logistical operation. More hidden from view is that helping people is one thing, but getting through to an elusive public with the objective of inducing behavioural change, is…

In the past months the COVID-19 pandemic has made the world become more reliant on digital communication and social media. As virtual spectators of diplomacy during these times, it is not difficult to notice that diplomacy is more colourful nowadays.

Fashion is a common thread running through alumna Anouk van Oss’s life. From a young age, fashion was a way for her to express herself. That was until she discovered how problematic the fashion industry is. She decided to focus on sustainability in her studies and hopes at some point to become a sustainability…

The corona crisis relates to not only the medical field but also the field of the social sciences and humanities. SSH Beraad, a consultation body that aims to improve the position of the social sciences and humanities in the Netherlands, has launched a website bringing together experts in the social…

More effective diagnosis and prognosis than ever, with less intrusive medical screening? Scientists from Leiden, Delft and Rotterdam are well on the way to achieving just that. Imaging professors Serge Rombouts and Wiro Niessen are working on an extremely rigorous, self-learning adviser for radiologists.…

10 October is the Day of Sustainability. What is the current status of sustainability at Leiden University? Things are moving ahead. Professor of Environmental Biology and Dean of the Faculty of Science, Geert de Snoo, outlines a new prospect: biodiversity.

Jaïr van Rhenen studied Medicine in Leiden and is now a GP in the largely religious Veenendaal. Before this, he worked as a tropical medicine doctor in Lesotho. ‘If you have the prospect of an afterlife, you often respond differently to illness.’

The theme of the opening of this year’s academic year was peace and justice. With the climate crisis and the war in Ukraine, these are turbulent times. During the ceremony those present reflected on what the academic community and universities can mean in times of crisis and conflict.

Wouter Moerland is on a two-year secondment as ecology adviser at the Municipality of Leiden. This biology alumnus talks animatedly about his work. ‘We’re working hard to increase nature’s chances in town.’

Dutch greenhouse horticulture is a world leader when it comes to innovative capacity and sustainability, but ‘the challenges are great in terms of energy, water, environment and biodiversity,’ says Peter van Bodegom, coordinator of AgriFood at the Centre for Sustainability of the Leiden, Delft, Erasmus…

From a lovely blossoming garden in Barcelona, Eduard Fosch Villaronga is talking enthusiastically about his postdoc at Leiden University. Due to the corona lockdown, he is currently spending the 2020 summer at his mother’s place, but he is looking forward to returning to Leiden (and to the Dutch bit…

The previous blog post in this series discussed the role of international diplomacy during the coronavirus crisis. This post focuses on diplomacy and its challenges in post-corona times. Specifically, the blog post argues that diplomats will face a range of challenges following the Covid-19 pandemic…

In otherwise energetic desserts at the bottom of the sea, researchers have found oases where microbes can harvest energy. Remarkably, the microbes first have to be buried under starving conditions for 80,000 years. An international group of researchers, amongst them José Mogollón from the Insitute of…

Language evolution, targeted drugs or archaeological interpretation. Researchers are making increasing use of supercomputers that can rapidly process large quantities of data. This is one reason why the University data centre will be extended and updated. ‘Datamining means we can get a better picture…

Festival

Discussion

This research project is funded by a subsidy from Instituut Gak.

Below are some of the scholarly works published within the context of the Institutions for Conflict Resolution programme.