On Friday morning, 8 June, Thijs Bosker, Associate Professor at Leiden University College, was interviewed by NPO Radio 1 on plastic pollution in Antartctica: ''Anually, an additional 4 - 12 billion kilos of plastic ends up in our ocean''.

The imprisoned leader of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (Partiya Karkerên Kurdistan, PKK), Abdullah Öcalan, called for a peace settlement between Turkey and PKK on 28 February 2015.

Prof. Jaap van den Herik was a guest in the latest episode of the Nationale Data Podcast.

Rogier Kegge, Assistant Professor at the Institute of Public Law of Leiden University, was interviewed by Dutch newspaper de Volkskrant in response to the recent recommendations by Johan Remkes on how to approach the nitrogen crisis.

Researchers from Leiden University have investigated the living conditions of Dutch fighters in Syria. Their report is central to a panel discussion on Tuesday, 24 May.

A new website has been set up that provides information about the government funded Law Sector Plan in the Netherlands, including the plans of the participating universities and developments within the agreed themes.

The Opening Hours of the Faculty during the Holidays are:

Dr. Joris Larik has become a member of the FGGA Faculty Council following a vacancy there until September 2019

Quirine Eijkman, terrorism expert at the Institute for Security and Global Affairs, talked about the attack in Manchester.

A new class of the master's programme International Relations and Diplomacy graduated on 6 July. We asked the graduates all about their studies, the city and future plans.

On May 13, prof. Tom R. Tyler (Yale Law School) will hold a lecture at Leiden Law School on

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.

In the 15th issue of Eurojust News Alastair Reed, Acting Director of the International Centre for Counter-Terrorism gave an interview about counter-terrorism, lone wolves and how Eurojust could serve as a platform to improve strategic communication on counter-terrorism between Member States.

22 November 2018.

The Dutch Minister of Justice and Security is about to turn the entire volunteer fire brigade upside down. Not because it is good, but because it is assumed that it has to be done under EU law. This is tragic and unnecessary: there are strong legal arguments to defend the current set-up of the volunteer…

We are very proud to announce that our LUC Science Lab is finished and ready to be used by LUC students.

The Scotsman Alan Jope is to succeed Paul Polman as CEO of Unilever, a clear sign in the eyes of Arco Timmermans, Professor Public Affairs by special appointment at Leiden University: ‘It seems to me that Unilever is moving with the market’s demands.’

The Irish meat magnate Larry Goodman is under scrutiny: he is thought to have evaded taxes by using a Dutch company, among other things.

Gabina Aurora Pérez, Mixtec investigator and defender of rights of indigenous peoples, who is working at the Faculty of Archaeology, Leiden University (The Netherlands), was honored by the Government of the State of Oaxaca, Mexico, as her name was given to one ofthe modern buildings in the ' Ciudad…

China’s internet giants like Alibaba and Tencent go global. However, Alibaba shares its data with the Chinese state. The state links the Chinese social credit system to consumer’s profiles. What if Alibaba takes over the market?

LAPP students Emily den Boer and Louise Floris, together with Esther Kentin, wrote about the proposal for a plastic bottle deposit return system that has been discussed in the Dutch Parliament in April 2019.

Giliam de Valk, assistant professor at the Institute of Security and Global Affairs, was one of the speakers at the third congress of the National Thinking Tank Integral Security on 6 February.

Over the last couple of weeks, the opening of the Schouwburgstraat building during the weekends turned out to be a great success. Therefore, the opening hours will be extended. Starting Saturday 30 May 2015, the Schouwburgstraat building will be open from 10.00 to 23.00 hrs. on Saturdays and Sunday…

Suliman Ibrahim was interviewed by Leiden University’s weekly newspaper ‘Mare’ about his research on Libya.

Research project ‘Quantification, Administrative Capacity, and Democracy (QUAD)’ has a vacancy for a postdoc.

Special Issue Workshop Res Publica

Many students, members of staff and alumni at Leiden University are active in politics, including as candidates in the local elections on 21 March.

Great news: the MOOC

Each month we will be spotlighting material we have been reading, or that have been recommended to us that relate to AI and a particular theme.

The English-language interdisciplinary minor ‘AI and Society’ explores the role of artificial intelligence in our society. The interdisciplinary nature of the minor is proving beneficiary for students and lecturers alike. We sit in during a class.

On the occasion of the 400th anniversary of the first publication of De jure belli ac pacis by Hugo Grotius in 1625, an international conference will be organized by the Grotiana Foundation, the Paul Scholten Centre for Jurisprudence at the University of Amsterdam, the Grotius Centre for International…

Masterclasses, network meetings and coaching cafés: the Alumni Office was offering a whole range of activities every month for the University’s alumni. Until coronavirus broke out, that is. The Leiden Alumni Webinars mean that alumni can still meet and share their knowledge with interesting speakers.…

Leiden Public Administration alumnus Jeffrey Jonkers negotiates in Syria with the Assad government, civilians and even with IS. The UN peace talks are due to start shortly in Geneva. Jonkers negotiates behind the scenes.

With the Liveable Communities – Liveable Planet project, Marja Spierenburg, Professor of Anthropology of Sustainability and Livelihood, is showing that scientists are driven by ambition, hope and faith. She is linking Vrouw Vennepolder, a polder in Zuid-Holland, to the UN climate goals.

Good, accessible and affordable healthcare is increasingly difficult to provide. Martin Schalij from the LUMC understands that this can keep people awake at night.

‘‘Stop focusing on the money and start creating a heart for Europe’’ This Friday, the 29th of April, Bernard Steunenberg and his co-authors will launch their book ‘Fit for the Future’. We spoke with him about issues presented in the book, the EU Presidency and why people should read the book.

Alumna Jolien Schukking has been working as a judge at the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg since 2017. In this special role, she provides legal protection at an international level in major cases and concerning various topics. What is her job like and what motivates her?

Scholars from the field of science, technology and innovation (STI) policy have often questioned whether there was substantive difference between international STI policy and science diplomacy. This is hard to answer, but at least we can observe that science diplomacy has had great appeal over the last…

New research has confirmed that the Dutch military used systematic, extreme violence against Indonesians. In his book Soldaat in Indonesië (Soldier in Indonesia), to be released at the end of October, historian Gert Oostindie draws the same conclusions using different sources. He presents new findings…

The proceeds of the Leiden University Science Run on 28 September will go to Scholars at Risk, a section of the UAF that assists refugee scholars. One such scholar is Leiden PhD candidate Lety Elvir Lazo from Honduras.

The announcement by US President Donald Trump on 9 March in response to the invitation for a summit meeting with the North Korean supreme leader Kim Jong Un came as a big surprise. Media analyses vary from being very positive to almost cynically negative. However, according to researcher on Korea Koen…

The Netherlands-Flemish Institute in Cairo (NVIC) is celebrating its 50th anniversary this year. Thousands of students and researchers from eight partner universities in the Netherlands and Flanders have been able to gain valuable experience in Egypt through the institute. Good reason for a celebrat…

Three professors voice their concerns about a vulnerable group in our society: children who come into contact with youth care.

Women In International Security (WIIS) is a global organisation dedicated to advancing the leadership and professional development of women in the field of international peace and security. As part of her research on women, peace and security, Dr. Vanessa Newby at the Institute for Security and Global…

When the government introduced its corona measures, the future of EL CID suddenly looked uncertain. But this annual introduction week will start on 5 August after all. How did the EL CID board pull this off? A glimpse behind the scenes through the eyes of chair Mirte Haanappel.

In 1960, Albert Winsemius started to help the city state of Singapore achieve its rapid rise out of economic misery. He helped the Singaporean government understand how the Netherlands had managed to rebuild so quickly after the Second World War, with the help of the American Marshall Plan. PhD defence…

Christian Lequesne introduces the upcoming special issue on Ministries of Foreign Affairs in this blog post.

After a year of war against Ukraine, professors André Gerrits, Antoaneta Dimitrova and Frans Osinga look back at Russian aggression and Western unity and ahead to the new offensive.

The Dies Natalis for alumni on 11 February was an online event. Almost 1,000 alumni tuned in to Bastiaan Rijpkema’s interview with Annetje Ottow, who had then been President of Leiden University’s Executive Board for all of three days. Alumni are part of her portfolio on the Executive Board.

The coronavirus outbreak has demonstrated the strengths and weaknesses of modern diplomacy. In this two-part series of blog posts, I will attempt to analyze how diplomats grappled with the coronavirus pandemic and how international diplomacy can best prepare to meet similar challenges in the future.…