Legitimacy is generally a term that is associated with the state. The term surfaces when there are problems with state legitimacy—when it is lacking or absent. This present volume attempts to think through the relevance of the concept of legitimacy for other political actors than the state.

On 25 October 2018, Tu Zhang defended her thesis 'Public Reason Secularism: A Defense of Liberal Democracy'. The doctoral research was supervised by prof. P. Cliteur.

Memory and Identity is one of the six research themes of the LUCAS Modern and Contemporary cluster.

Migration is the talk of the town. On the whole, however, the current situation is seen as resulting from unique political upheavals. Such a-historical interpretations ignore the fact that migration is a fundamental phenomenon in human societies from the beginning and plays a crucial role in the cultural,…

This project proceeds from the observation that since the second half of the twentieth century, forgiveness and reconciliation have become pervasive themes in western culture, both on a political level and in personal relations.

The arrival of Columbus to the Caribbean in 1492 marked a milestone in world history. In both the European and the indigenous world, a set of economic, political and hierarchical networks and relations were defined, structured and changed. These changes affected the indigenous population at different…

Dionysius of Halicarnassus and Augustan Rome: Greek culture in the Roman world.

Assembling State, Space and Society on the Urban Margins in Morocco

From the rise and fall of Egypt’s Muslim Brotherhood, to Islamic State’s attempts to create its own currency, to the dramatic return of the Taliban in Afghanistan, this edited volume from two leading scholars of contemporary terrorism assembles an enviable array of international experts to explore these…

Underneath you find more information on how our faculty works.

LUCIR aims to bundle together, strengthen and disseminate existing research in the field of international relations.

The Europaeum is a network of 17 leading European universities, whose aim is to bring together talented students and teachers and to promote a 'European feeling' through cooperation and academic mobility.

This study explores public leaders’ organizational learning orientation in the wake of a crisis. More precisely, we study the association between public leaders’ public service motivation and their learning orientation (instrumental versus political).

Arabic and its Alternatives discusses the complicated relationships between language, religion and communal identities in the Middle East in the period following the First World War.

Does foreign aid promote human rights?

The idea of global governance and trust in international institutions are apparently getting into deep water. But is there a legitimacy crisis? Not according to international élites, as Jan Aart Scholte (Leiden University), Soetkin Verhaegen (Maastricht University) and Jonas Tallberg (Stockholm University)…

My research addresses the function of the much-debated particle -nā in Biblical Hebrew, often translated with “please”, from the point of view of the most important ancient Bible translations (Greek, Syriac, Latin). It combines textual criticism, translation technique, discourse pragmatics, and the…

On 24 October 2023 Jurre Knoest successfully defended a doctoral thesis and graduated.

In this journal article, Dr. Joris Larik and Dr. Richard Ponzio put forward a broad-based pandemic recovery agenda that goes hand in hand with institutional reforms at the global level.

Sebastian Diessner, Assistant Professor at the Institute of Public Administration, focuses on the role of the European Central Bank in a critical phase toward a new presidency and its approach to monetary policy by looking at both financial market and survey data.

The multiple connections between emblematics and Natural History in the broader perspective of their underlying artistic, literary, political and religious ideologies.

In this article in International Affairs, Saskia Postema and Jan Melissen examine Chinese celebrities' UN-affiliated Weibo activism in the context of China's increasing engagement in the United Nations, which coincides with a shrinking domestic public sphere under Xi Jinping's leadership.

From Apartheid in South-Africa to 9/11 in the United States: there is not a single culture that is not shaped by the memory of war or conflict. The minor Cultural Memory of War and Conflict focuses on how such memory cultures influence and shape societies today.

Since the Second World War, intelligence and security services have played an important role in policy and decision making, particularly with regards to a state’s national security. In this minor programme we study both the organisations, their working methods, their analysis techniques, as well as…

In this article, Antoaneta Dimitrova and others explore what motivates protesters in Central and Eastern Europe.

It is a tragic fact that mass atrocities have been, and are being, committed across the world. The international community, while condemning these acts, often stands idly by. This conundrum raises a host of empirical, legal, and normative questions regarding the role of public opinion in responding…

The PML specialisation prepares you with knowledge and understanding of the key concepts and theories of management, leadership, decision-making and policy implementation in national and international government organizations.

This book expands on the existing literature on the international dimension of democratization by introducing the concept of democracy projection. Democracy projection is defined as the projection of (democratic) norms through the every-day practice of interactions-beyond any donor-recipient relationship-between…

Islamic Thought in History (ITH) is a peer-reviewed book series that publishes new approaches to Islamic thought and the history of ideas in the Islamic civilisation.

The master's programme in Philosophy at Leiden University integrates historical and systematic approaches in philosophy. It offers an advanced training in philosophical methodologies and skills, as well as a sophisticated knowledge of traditional and recent philosophical developments. At Leiden University,…

The master's programme in Philosophy at Leiden University integrates historical and systematic approaches in philosophy. It offers an advanced training in philosophical methodologies and skills, as well as a sophisticated knowledge of traditional and recent philosophical developments. At Leiden University,…

Presenting case studies by both senior and emerging scholars, it makes mandatory reading for anyone interested in the challenges of governance, citizenship and development faced by the people of India’s North East.

On Tuesday 3 September 2024 Straton Papagianneas successfully defended a doctoral thesis and graduated.

The Faculty of Governance and Global Affairs is one of a total of seven faculties of Leiden University, located in The Hague.

Globalization, migration, technological innovation and climate change pose challenges to citizens in European countries. These challenges test the limits of cross-national and cross-generational solidarities, touching upon the very foundations of governance and society. This research program aims at…

This article explores an emerging “cultural turn” in intelligence studies, which, if fully realized, could entail the expansion of the discipline to include new methodologies and theories, and a more integrative understanding of historical causality that locates intelligence agencies within the widersocio-cultural…

Unravelling networks of human mobility and exchange of goods and ideas from a pre-colonial, pan-Caribbean perspective

This one-year, English-taught Master's programme offers insights on general developments as well as the specific challenges in the field of the governance of crisis and security, with in-depth knowledge of sub-fields of crisis and security management.

This one-year, English-taught Master's programme offers insights on general developments as well as the specific challenges in the field of the governance of crisis and security, with in-depth knowledge of sub-fields of crisis and security management.

The one-year History specialisation in Ancient History offers an attractive mix of theoretical knowledge and practical experience.

During the Europe 1000-1800 programme you will learn from inspired academics. Find out more about the programme below.

Social and Behavioural Sciences, Political Science

For most of the past ten years, Europe has been in a state of ‘crisis’. The bank crisis mutated seamlessly via the Euro crisis to the present migrant crisis. Whereas previously the general assumption was that even closer cooperation within the European Union was a foregone conclusion, the EU is now…

The Journal of European Public Policy has dedicated this year’s Special Issue to the theme of European Union Enlargement and Integration Capacity, on the suggestion of Dr. Antoaneta Dimitrova, senior lecturer at the Institute of Public Administration of Leiden University. Moreover, the Special Issue…

On 23 March 2017, his Majesty King Willem-Alexander visited The Hague Security Delta: a network in which businesses, knowledge institutions and governments work together on knowledge development and innovation in the field of security. This includes the Cyber Security Academy, where the Master's programme…

During the week of 27 June - 2 July, the Institute of History was host to the first SHAFR Graduate Summer Institute held outside of the United States. The theme of the Institute was Culture, Propaganda and Intelligence in Cold War History.

The emergence of 'illiberal democracies' and the protection of human rights in Europe.