The rationale, construction, and function of the imperial capitals of Assyria

The Assyrian Empire was the first state to achieve durable domination of the Ancient Near East, enduring some seven centuries and, eventually, controlling most of the region. Yet, we know little about how this empire emerged from a relatively minor polity in the Tigris region and how it managed to consolidate…

Satellites belonging to American space company SpaceX recently came very close to a Chinese space station. Experts are calling for traffic management rules in space.

Inaugural lecture

Refugees’ effect on domestic terrorism is conditioned by host-country social perception (attitude about living next-door to foreigners) and economic competition. These hypotheses are tested cross-nationally from 1995-2014 leveraging data from the World Values Survey.

On 14 November 2019 Niek Schipper defended his thesis 'De invloed van de woonplaats op de fiscale behandeling van grensoverschrijdende werknemers'. The doctoral research was supervised by Prof. S.C.W. Douma and Prof. J.P. Boer.

You can find more information on the Dutch webpage. Click on the “Nederlands” button above.

Valedictory lecture

Anna van Buerenplein, Anna van Buerenplein 301, 2595 DG, The Hague

Het Van Winterfonds maakt in 2021 een promotieplaats mogelijk. Doel daarvan is de promovendus de gelegenheid te geven om een promotieplaats te verwerven voor een door haar of hem zelf ontwikkeld promotieplan. Aanvragen kunnen worden gedaan tot 15 maart 2021.

Anna van Buerenplein, Anna van Buerenplein 301, 2595 DG, The Hague

Anna van Buerenplein, Anna van Buerenplein 301, 2595 DG, The Hague

The focus of our theoretical research is understanding the behaviour of soft condensed matter, physical matter which is deformed or structurally altered by thermal fluctuations or small stresses.

We investigate the physics and design of mechanical metamaterial, intricately sculpted materials with properties set by their architecture.

On the occasion of prof Paul van der Heijden’s stepping down as Rector Magnificus and President of the Executive Board of Leiden University in 2013 the Chair bearing his name on Social Justice was established. It was a “farewell present” of the Leiden University to it’s Rector.

Political scientists Huib Pellikaan and Niels van Willigen (Leiden University) use and elaborate on the theoretical insights from game theory in order to understand nuclear security in changing environment. Now that the relations between the US and Russia have deteriorated and smaller nuclear states…

Political scientists Marijn Nagtzaam (Leiden University) and Patrick van Erkel (University of Antwerp) investigate how electoral rules affect intra party preference voting. Focusing on the effect of two specific rules—the option to cast a list vote and on a single versus multiple preference vote—and…

Promotor: E.R. Eliel, Co-Promotor: M.J.A. de Dood

In this article, Tokdemir & Klein examine the strategic actions of governments against domestic terrorist groups and domestic terrorist groups’ reactions to such actions.

Van Steenis, Einsteinweg 2, 2333 CC, Leiden

Van Steenis, Einsteinweg 2, 2333 CC, Leiden

Majorana meets a mermaid

Promotie van Joanka van der Laan: "Enacting Devotion: Performative Religious Reading in the Low Countries (ca. 1470-1550)" Promotoren: Prof. dr. B.A.M. Ramakers en Prof. dr. S. Corbellini Plaats en datum: Rijksuniversiteit Groningen, 26 augustus, 16.15 Vanwege de coronamaatregelen is het aantal…

This dissertation is a study of archaeological remains left behind by nomadic communities in the Black Desert, situated in the northeast of modern Jordan.

Chromatin is an ubiquitous protein-DNA complex that forms the structural basis of DNA condensation in all eukaryotic organisms.

Discover the new MSc in Public Sector Economics at Leiden University, offered entirely in Dutch. This program prepares future policy economists by bridging economic theory, Dutch institutions, and real-world policy challenges. Starting September 2025 in The Hague, it focuses on key issues like inequality,…

This PhD-thesis analyses the relationship between the parties’ choices in the CPB Netherlands Bureau for Economic Policy Analysis’ assessments of the election manifestos and coalition agreements over the period 1986-2017, and tries to explain this relationship.

Hoe kan de City Deal Kennis Maken bijdragen aan het formuleren van maatschappelijk relevant onderzoek dat de stad in al haar diversiteit centraal stelt? In de stad Leiden zijn burgers momenteel maar in beperkte mate betrokken bij het bepalen van de agenda van de lokale City Deal Kennis Maken. Dit onderzoeksproject…

The new Master’s programme in Public Sector Economics (MSc Economics) prepares you to become the policy economist of the future. The programme enables you to bridge the gap between economic theories, scientific methods, the functioning of Dutch institutions and policy processes, as well as current societal…

In this publication, Prof. Tahir Abbas, Inés Bolaños Somoano, Joana Cook, Isabelle Frens, Graig R. Klein and Richard McNeil-Willson look into the manifesto that was linked to the Buffalo attack in order to better understand the broader context and specific factors that motivated the perpetrator.

On 12 January 2022, Mirjam Franke defended the thesis 'Over de grens van de onrechtmatige daad'. The doctoral research was supervised by Prof. A.G. Castermans and Prof. J.H. Crijns.

Ontwikkeling van resistentie tegen antibiotica kan optreden als patiënten onnodig of te lang met antibiotica behandeld worden. Diagnostiek waarmee snel een bacteriële infectie vastgesteld kan worden, of de response op antibiotica bepaald kan worden, zijn daarom belangrijk om therapie te optimaliseren…

PhD defence

The life cycle of comets near the star Beta Pictoris is similar to that of comets in our own solar system. This is the conclusion of a team of astronomers from the Netherlands, France and Brazil. It seems that, just like in our own solar system, there are fewer comets as the star gets older. The researchers,…

Zijn sociale aspecten van anxiety-like gedrag bij zeer jonge zebravissen al aanwezig? Zijn deze afhankelijk van de coping style (persoonlijkheid) van het individu? Zijn deze gedragingen endocrien te moduleren, bv door oxytocine?

In specialist organ literature a negative verdict is given on organs and organ specialists from the 1930’s. Did the same verdict apply to Johan van Meurs’ (1903-1986) work? Which role does Van Meurs’ collection of organ specifications play in the historical research on the organ?

NINO BA and MA Thesis Prize 2018

The Archaeology of Imperial Landscapes examines the transformation of rural landscapes and societies that formed the backbone of ancient empires in the Near East and Mediterranean. Through a comparative approach to archaeological data, it analyses the patterns of transformation in widely differing imperial…

This thesis explores several aspects of these Early Old Babylonian Amorites.

On 30 June 2021, Thijs Beumers defended his thesis 'De bescherming van immateriële contractuele belangen in het schadevergoedingsrecht'. The doctoral research was supervised by Prof. A.G. Castermans and Prof. W.H. van Boom.

Anna van Buerenplein, Anna van Buerenplein 301, 2595 DG, The Hague

This volume sees the publication of fifty-six early Old Babylonian letters from ca. 1880 BCE. They were found by legendary Iraqi archaeologist Taha Baqir in 1941 at the site of Tell ed-Dēr, ancient Sippar-Amnānum, in central Iraq.

Niels van Willigen (Institute of Political Science, Leiden University) puts Dutch participation in UN peacekeeping into an historical context. He analyses the reasons for the Dutch withdrawal from the 1990s onwards, and explores the obstacles and opportunities for a structural return. Van Willigen argues…

Are you thinking about studying Management van de Publieke Sector: Politiek, Beleid en Management? Learn more and watch thevideos. Please note that this programme is taught in Dutch.

Are you thinking about studying Management van de Publieke Sector: Bestuur en Advisering?Learn more and watch the videos. Please note that this programme is taught in Dutch.

Are you thinking about studying Encyclopedie en filosofie van het recht? Learn more and watch the videos. Please note that this programme is taught in Dutch.

The Organ Art of the first female German concert organist and Bremen Cathedral organist and

Michiel Pronk defended his thesis on 30 March 2016