Dirk Huyge (Director) & Wouter Claes (Vice-Director)

Overview of the main research projects at the Leiden Papyrological Institute.

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

How old is the phenomenon of states attempting to control migrations on external borders? What were the motives and outcomes of these policies? In his dissertation, Jovan Pešalj examines how migration control on the southern Habsburg border emerged, how they functioned, and what impact they had on migrations.…

Italian historiographers in the 16th and 17th centuries wrote remarkably often about the Dutch Revolt, better known as the Eighty Years' War (1568-1648). Their works influenced public opinion both in Italy and in the Netherlands. This is the conclusion reached by historian Cees Reijner in his dissertation.…

Remembrance Day on 4 May may be different this year, but it will make no less of an impression. Ethan Mark, who specialises in modern Japanese history, will give an online lecture about forgotten stories from the Second World War. Via Open Jewish Homes, moving stories can be heard online of Jewish alumni.…

Jaap de Hoop Scheffer, Professor of International Relations and Diplomatic Affairs at the Institute of Security and Global Affairs, says we must block and expel Putin wherever possible.

The EU fundamental right to ‘freedom of the arts and sciences’: exploring the limits on the commercialisation of academia (AFITE) AFITE is an interdisciplinary five-year research project. It is funded by the Netherlands Organization of Scientific Research (NWO), as part of its Vidi scheme. Its principal…

The chance that it will do so is about zero, but Russia is legally obliged to investigate violations of law during the war in Ukraine. States that enter into an armed conflict often deny liability, but under international humanitarian law and human rights they are obliged to investigate their military…

The Institute of Security and Global Affairs (ISGA) focuses on multidisciplinary research and education within the international scientific field of security studies.

This project aims to situate the current policy concept of ‘valorization of scientific knowledge’ in historical and epistemological perspectives. Conceptual understanding of the utility of scientific practices is developed in dialogue with historical analyses of the politics of knowledge in European…

Professor Mirjam de Bruijn will research digital warfare in the North African Sahel with an NWO Open Competition grant. The focus of the research will be on Fulani social networks in war and cultural violence.

For too long the Dutch collective memory has judged the Jewish Council too harshly. This perspective needs to be adjusted, Bart van der Boom argues in his new book ‘De politiek van het kleinste kwaad’ (lit. ‘The Politics of the Lesser Evil’).

Study information

Russian Cellist and ACPA researcher Maya Fridman is organizing many benefit events together with Russian and Ukrainian musicians to raise funds for Giro 555 for Ukraine.

The Second World War took the lives of at least 663 students, staff and alumni of Leiden University. They were killed in raids, deported to concentration camps or, out of desperation, took their own lives.

The Impact of Mobility and Migration in the Roman Empire assembles a series of papers on key themes in the study of Roman mobility and migration.

Jewish Professor Eduard Meijers (1880-1954), along with 29 other Jewish members of staff, was dismissed by the Nazis in November 1940.

Colonial Soldiers in Europe, 1914-1945:

The project explores the role of modernization theory in the development of two foreign and domestic service programs: the Peace Corps and Volunteers in Service to America (VISTA). The Peace Corps has long been understood as a modernizing effort in a Cold War context, and this project will further investigate…

In this new column, colleagues share stories and experiences about working and living abroad. The first story is written by Marie-Agnes Dittrich, guest lecturer at the Institute for History. She is a musicologist at the University of Music and Performing Arts in Vienna. Below, she tells about her experience…

A History of Modern Political Thought in East Central Europe is a synthetic work, authored by an international team of researchers, covering twenty national cultures and 250 years. It goes beyond the conventional nation-centered narratives and presents a novel vision especially sensitive to the cross-cultural…

The Global Politics of Confucianism, a monograph contracted with Columbia University Press, analyzes the interaction between Confucianism and globalism in past and present, using history to critically engage Confucianism’s place in contemporary international relations and policy debates.

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.

“BABYLON” investigates the extent of the similarities between Babylonian and post-exilic forms of cultic and social organization and explores the question how Babylonian models could have influenced the restoration effort in Jerusalem.

Book launch

One of LUCIR’s key objectives is to bring together scholars and students of International Relations. To this end, LUCIR regularly organises events such as conferences, roundtables, lectures and book launches.

The NWO-funded Vidi project “American foreign policy and liberalism” challenges the idea that the United States has created and sustained a “liberal international order” since World War II. It instead explores the ways in which illiberal ideologies – such as those underpinning racial hierarchy at home…

Lecture, Research Seminar

A standing ovation. A wave and a smile from the president. A final selfie. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky addressed students in the Netherlands for the first time on Tuesday morning via a livestream in The Hague. He did so in front of two packed lecture halls at both Leiden University and The…

The Hague Journal of Diplomacy regularly publishes reviews of recent books within the field of diplomacy and global affairs.

The Battle of Heiligerlee, on 23 May 450 years ago, is famous as an epic battle in Dutch history. But was it really so momentous? Professor of Early Modern History Judith Pollmann unravels the myths about ‘Heiligerlee’ and the Eighty Years' War.

Conference

To mark its 75th anniversary, the Netherlands War Graves Foundation is publishing a portrait of a war victim every week this year. On 24 January the drawing of Irawan Soejono, a Leiden student and Indonesian resistance member, was unveiled at the Groenesteeg cemetery in Leiden, the place where Soejono…

Violent conflicts and civil wars in Chad impede most rural households' access to food security, agricultural activities and access to essential services such as health care. In her dissertation, Nakar Djindil Syntyche denounces this issue. She obtained her PhD on 24 November.

How wonderful would it be to use art, technology and science in Ukraine's recovery? Young Ukrainians currently residing in Poland get guidance to develop creative programmes and activities that can later be implemented. Leiden astronomers Pedro Russo and Kateryna Frantseva cooperate in the project.

Lecture

The Russian military assault on Ukraine has profoundly shocked knowledge institutions in the Netherlands, as represented by Universities of the Netherlands, the Netherlands Association of Universities of Applied Sciences, the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences, the Dutch Research Council,…

The Urban Studies bachelor’s programme is based on two learning trajectories. One is dedicated to knowledge related to urban issues, while the other focuses on a wide range of practical and academic skills.

Lecture

Subproject of

In the Russian and Eurasian Studies master's programme our experts devote attention to the most recent developments, currently the war in Ukraine. Several courses will provide context and background about this war.

Tens of thousands of soldiers and civilians have died as a result of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 and the continuing armed conflict. Many forms of critical infrastructure have been destroyed. Much of this devastation has been caused by weapons that utilise forms of artificial intelligence…

One of the stained glass windows in the Great Auditorium of the Academy Building is dedicated to the students and staff of Leiden University who resisted, protested against, or became victims of the German occupiers. It depicts female figures alongside male ones.

Following its foundation in 1575, Leiden University was quick to incorporate Roman goddess Minerva in its coat of arms. This explains why Rembrandt’s Minerva from 1635 can be seen on the façade of the Academy Building, which has been in use by the University since 1581. This is where, in the Senate…

More than 600 staff members and students of Leiden University did not survive the war. Two of them were Caroline van Loen and Elsa Oppenheim .