The treasure houses of Leiden's University Library and Naturalis house wonderful historical collections with dried plants and botanical drawings. Tinde van Andel, extraordinary professor of History of botany and gardens, studies these collections.

De Nederlandse geschiedenis is nauw verbonden met die van de wereld als geheel. Door migratie, handel en kennisuitwisseling beïnvloedden mensen elkaar over grotere afstanden en intensiever dan we lang dachten. Wereldgeschiedenis van Nederland toonde in meer dan honderd verhalen hoe internationaal de…

In the last two decades, there have been heated public and scholarly debates in France, the United Kingdom, and the Netherlands on the violent end of empire. Nevertheless, the broader comparative investigations into colonial counterinsurgency tend to leave atrocities such as torture, execution, and…

On 18 April, Alexandre Tavadian defended the thesis 'The International Civil Service: Redefining Its Independence'. The doctoral research was supervised by Niels Blokker and Brian McGarry.

Political scientists Tom van der Meer, Lisa Janssen (University of Amsterdam) and Tom Louwerse (Leiden University) analyse polls presented by the main polling agencies in the Netherlands, as well as micro-level panel data. They reach three main conclusions. First, vote intention polls in the Netherlands…

On 17 August 1945, two days after the Japanese surrender that also brought an end to the Second World War in Asia, Indonesia declared its independence. The declaration was not recognized by the Netherlands, which resorted to force in its attempt to take control of the inevitable process of decolonization.…

On 20 September 2023 Mark van de Water successfully defended a doctoral thesis and graduated.

The cry for decolonization has echoed throughout the museum world. Although perhaps most audibly heard in the case of ethnographic museums, many different types of museums have felt the need to engage in decolonial practices. Amidst those who have argued that an institution as deeply colonial as the…

Everything you need to know about the minor Cultural Memory of War and Conflict.

The research focuses on the understanding of symbolic stratigraphy of the land (through time) from the worldview of the People of the Rain (one of the Indigenous Peoples of southern Mexico), by studying contemporary cultural heritage in communities of the Mixtec Highlands.

The book reinterprets the role of the UN during the Congo crisis from 1960 to 1964, presenting a multidimensional view of the organisation.

This article discusses the degree of independence that is required for national human rights institutions to function successfully.

Due to the fact that the Frisian lands lacked major political centers in the Middle Ages and also because most of its monasteries suffered complete destruction in the second half of the 16th century, relatively few written documents concerning medieval Frisian history have survived. To analyze them…

Three Dutch research institutes - including the Leiden University’s KITLV - will conduct a follow-up study on the use of violence during the Dutch East Indies war of decolonisation (1945 – 1950). The government has designated 4.1 million Euros for this study.

On 18 September 2019, Huw Llewellyn defended his thesis 'An Institutional Perspective on the United Nations Criminal Tribunals: Governance, Independence and Impartiality'. The doctoral research was supervised by Prof. N.M. Blokker and Prof. L.J. van den Herik.

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.

On a referendum held on May 21, 2006, 55.5% of voters in Montenegro voted in favor of their country’s independence. While in numerical terms the outcome shows overwhelming support for independent Montenegro, from a normative standpoint it was a narrow win. The normative framework that regulated rules…

Atherosclerosis is the main underlying pathology of cardiovascular disease. Atherosclerosis is caused by an immune response which is directed against (modified) lipoproteins which accumulate in the vessel wall.

In this minor, you will learn about the structure, working methods, and the analysis techniques used by intelligence and security agencies in the Western world.

What did colonial officials and missionaries think they were doing?

In this article, the authors explore how international criminal law is moving into a ‘post-critical’ phase and examine its potential for emancipatory reform.

On the 18th of November the article: 'Minder overheid, maar wie denkt er na over de lange termijn? (translation from Dutch: 'Less government, but who is thinking long term?') written by prof. dr. Frits M. van der Meer was posted on Mejudice: 'an independent forum for discussions aiming to stimulate…

On the 22nd of January 2016 the article: 'Drie valkuilen en denkfouten in de drang naar een kleinere overheid' (translation from Dutch: 'Three pitfalls and fallacies in the desire for a smaller government') written by prof. dr. Frits M. van der Meer & Mr. dr. G.S.A. Dijkstra was posted on Mejudice:…

Four years of protracted negotiations and bitter warfare passed between the declaration of Indonesian independence on 17 August, 1945, and the official transfer of sovereignty on 27 December, 1949.

How did African actors engage with the idea of Eurafrica?

The CADS Research Cluster People, Power and Diversity aims to further theoretical and methodological debates on the classifications of human difference, such as gender, race, ethnicity, sexuality, class, age, ability, religion, level of development, time, etc., and the way these classifications organize…

Indigenous Latin American artifacts have attracted the interest of Europeans since the earliest moment of contact between Europeans and the Indigenous peoples of the Americas. The ERC-funded BECACO project uses an innovative multidisciplinary framework to investigate the provenance of ethnographic and…