Academic freedom is essential for good scientific practice, but there are limits: scientists and scholars from all domains must always seek a proper balance between academic freedom and independence on the one hand, and social responsibility on the other hand.

PhD defence

How have British cities changed in the years since the Second World War? And what drove this transformation? This innovative new history traces the development of the post-war British city, from the 1940s era of reconstruction, through the rise and fall of modernist urban renewal, up to the present-day…

Big Science, commonly defined as conventional science made big in three dimensions, namely organizations, machines, and politics, brings a plethora of different stakeholders together, often for a long period of time. This includes policymakers, scientists, (scientific) managers as well as local “host”…

How to explain the apparent high success rates of the EU infringement procedures, which are the major tools for enforcing EU law, against the member states?

Elena Bondarouk, Assistant Professor at the Faculty Governance and Global Affairs, obtained her PhD on 27 August for her thesis on the local implementation of EU air quality policy. Her research has been included into the 'Europa decentraal' database, a Dutch governmental knowledge centre for queries…

This project investigates the causes of the major archaeological change in the period of 40.000-20.000 BC in South Africa.

On Friday 19 April, Netspar (Network for Studies on Pensions, Aging and Retirement) and Network Vrouwen FNV held a knowledge event at Madurodam in The Hague on the topic of the gender pension gap. Suzanne Kali, lecturer and researcher at the Labour Law and Social Security department, was a speaker and…

On 1 September 2024, lecturer and researcher Suzanne Kali, who works at Leiden Law School’s Labour Law and Social Security department, took over from Marica Wismeijer (Athora Netherlands) as Chair of the women’s network ‘Netwerk Vrouwen FNV’. The network, which is part of the FNV trade union, focuses…

PhD defence

Voormalig demissionair staatssecretaris van Fiscaliteit en Belastingdienst Marnix van Rij gaf op 17 juni in samenwerking met universitair docent Esther Huiskers-Stoop een gastcollege over belastingrecht en duurzaamheid. Deze lezing werd op initiatief van student Darya de Wilt georganiseerd.

Bone remains that are thousands of years old are often too fragmented to be identified. PhD candidate Frido Welker is the first person to be able to distinguish human bones from one another on the basis of old proteins. PhD defence 18 May.

Scientists of the faculty of Governance and Global Affairs research completely different subject, among which terrorism, cybercrime and migration. In the upcoming weeks we will give the floor to several of our very best researchers. In this episode: migration researcher Alexandre Afonso.

Last friday, an article appeared on Ruetir about 'donut thinking' in Amsterdam. Shivant Jhagroe, assistant professor at the Institute of Public Administration, talked about how 'donut thinking' could work in Amsterdam.

On March 31st – April 1st, the Association for the Study of Law, Culture and the Humanities (ASLHC) will hold its twentieth annual conference at Stanford Law School.

Aid workers being summoned to appear before a court in Greece and more stringent rules for rescue boats in Italy. Is providing aid to asylum seekers being criminalised? There's no doubt about it, according to Joanne van der Leun and Peter Rodrigues.

The amended Intelligence and Security Services Act (WiV) enacts a fundamental change in the relationship between the security services and politics. This carries the risk of politicisation of information, according to Professor Paul Abels. Inaugural lecture on 16 February.

Course, Summer School

In the PhD project of Teuntje Vosters, which started in January 2016, she analyses the history of NGOs and their influence over time. The research question of her project is: to what extend and in what circumstances were NGOs successful in influencing European refugee policy between since 1900?

The introductory meeting of the new evening track Management and Consultancy (MSc Management Public Sector) was held on Thursday 3 February at Wijnhaven. Prof. dr. Frits van der Meer, in charge of the professional Public Administration master programme, welcomed the first cohort of students together…

As a result of the decentralisation of responsibilities in the public domain, most Dutch municipalities have created community teams. These community teams are tasked with providing easy access to care and support for citizens and with providing solutions to fit their individual needs. This requires…

Three professors, including Leiden Professor of Constitutional and Administrative Law Wim Voermans, sent an urgent letter to the Dutch Senate on 29 May 2023 concerning the new pension system. The criticism focuses not so much on the content of the new pension system, but on the fact that, according…

Commercial parties offering space travel, space waste, claiming the moon, potentially exploiting resources ... It’s going to get busy in space in the coming years. But there are no clear agreements about this. Tanja Masson-Zwaan, Assistant Professor of Space Law, talked about the topic in Spraakmakers…

Several media outlets made mention of an accord on the proposal for a 'verplichte arbeidsongeschiktheidsverzekering' (mandatory occupational disability insurance) for ZZP'ers (self-employed persons), which is part of the 'pensioenakkoord' (Dutch agreement on pension reform).

Governments worldwide invest huge sums in their digital services and data strategies. Efficiency and effectiveness are key. But these are not achieved for some people at least, says Professor of Public Policy Sarah Giest. This makes the intended digital inclusion far from inclusive, as she will explain…

The American security services brought down American President Nixon, not the media as people generally believe. Andrew Gawthorpe, researcher on diplomacy and American foreign policy, hopes that the security services under Trump also make the right decision.

How humans and rats cohabit the cityscape and what consequences this has for both sides of the conflict?

Workshop

Europe must be prepared to stand up for its values in its relationship with China, argues University Lecturer Casper Wits in an article in Politico.

Debate

Stichting Migratierecht Nederland and the Europa Institute of Leiden University are jointly organising the conference ‘Children’s Rights and Migration’ that will take place in Leiden on 26 January 2023. Researchers, lawyers, judges, policy makers and other professionals from migration legal practice…

Governments and public sector organisations consider evidence-based or evidence-informed policymaking as one of the pillars of good governance. That is to say: policies that are informed by scientific knowledge, expertise and evidence. In the research programme 'Power of Evidence', Valérie Pattyn and…

In ten years, it is projected that ten percent of global civil aviation operations will be unmanned. Are the current international aviation laws and regulations up to these technological developments? Fernando Fiallos will defend his dissertation on 14 November 2019.

The 8th Global Conference on Transparency Research (GCTR) took place between 15 and 17 May.

Some fifty students started their study of Europe in Practice on 4 April. This minor includes lectures by professionals who work closely with the European Union.

The Massive Open Online Course (MOOC) ‘EU policy and implementation: making Europe work!’ of Public Administration is included in the list of Class Central of the best courses in 2020.

The relationship between academia and democracy is a complicated one. Should policy makers listen to scientists or to citizens? That is the dilemma Valérie Pattyn and Johan Christensen will discuss with a panel of experts during the academic conference EuroScience Open Forum (ESOF).

Nikoleta Yordanova, a political scientist at Leiden University, will lead an international research consortium funded by the European NORFACE Network to complete a multi-disciplinary project ‘Willingness and Capacity for EU Policy Action in Turbulent Times: Conflicts, Positions and Outcomes’ (EUINACTION).…

Afghans who came to the Netherlands in a hurry, refugees who were used as leverage by Belarus and boat refugees who tried to reach Europe in an increasingly desperate manner: the newspapers were once again filled with news about migrants. Today, on International Migrants Day, we talk to professor Marlou…

PhD defence

Sjoerd Keulen holds the new special chair in Public Audit, Policy Evaluation and Accountability.