If a society is to be secure, sustainable and resilient, conflicting interests must be reconciled. Researchers at Leiden University study the behaviour of individuals, groups and states in relation to this issue, and use their knowledge to promote equality within and between communities.

A far-reaching understanding of human behaviour is necessary to get to grips with conflicts in society and to encourage parties to meet each other halfway. Psychologists, anthropologists and political scientists from Leiden are making invaluable contributions to that understanding. You can find out…

The latest podcast by Aukje Nauta, Professor by Special Appointment Enhancing Individuals in a Dynamic Work Context, for PeoplePowerFM.

On the 44th anniversary of Maastricht University, organisational psychologist Carsten de Dreu has transferred the dies lecture: 'On the Psychology and Economics of Leading Groups’. Watch Youtube for the lecture of De Dreu, winner of the Spinoza Prize in 2018.

Psychologists Emma ter Mors, Christine Boomsma and other research partners will share results from their work on the crucial issue of societal support for delivering carbon capture, utilisation and storage (CCUS) in Europe. You're welcome to watch the free webinar.

People prefer to reward cooperative behaviour than punish egotistical behaviour, even if this egotism has a negative effect on others. This is the conclusion of organisational psychologist Welmer Molenmaker in his research on the willingness to reward or punish cooperative behaviour. PhD defence 19…

Since mid-March, residents of Groningen have had access to a single digital portal for reporting damage to property arising from local gas extraction. Why is the Groningen gas issue such a complex problem and why is compensation taking so long? Psychologist Emma ter Mors and public administration specialist…

Leiden social and organisational psychologist Carsten de Dreu has been awarded a Spinoza Prize, the top science prize in the Netherlands. We talked to him about his passion for group processes, Leiden University and his dreams for the future. ‘A Spinoza opens up a world of possibilities.'

Leiden psychologist Carsten de Dreu was presented with the Spinoza Prize by Education Minister Van Engelshoven on 12 September. The award of 2.5 million euros will allow him to continue with his pioneering research on group dynamics.

How can we reduce CO2 emissions from industry? Leiden psychologists Emma Mors and Christine Boomsma are examining the public perception and acceptance around the capture and storage of carbon dioxide. This is part of the ALIGN CCUS European research programme.

Inaugural Lecture

Debate, StepTalk

This research project addresses an unexplored dimension of historical conflict resolution: the dynamics of strategic choices made by traders engaged in foreign trade in the city of Danzig (Gdansk) c. 1450-1580, a Hanseatic city under the Polish Crown.

The project investigates the implementation of policies and practices related to reconciliation and the strengthening of government capacity in the Odesa and Kharkiv regions of Ukraine.

Pre-modern long-distance trade was fraught with risks which often created conflicts of interest. The ensuing disputes and the ways the actors involved dealt with them belong to the field of conflict management.

People are less willing to give up an interest when in a negotiation situation than when they can do it of their own free will, as Leiden University psychologist Eric van Dijk discovered. Knowledge of this kind can be used by policy makers, for instance, to motivate people to adopt certain desirable…

From the late Middle Ages onwards, maritime conflict has developed hand in hand with international trade. Over time, specific institutions were established to address disputes arising from violence or mishap at sea and in coastal areas. Conflict resolution at sea has mostly been studied through the…

The debate about state behaviour in cyberspace may be set in the wrong legal key.

Large carnivore population is globally declining as a result of the fragmentation of habitat, large prey depletion and retaliatory killing by pastoralists.

The Institute for Philosophy at Leiden University is host to the NWO programme, "Between Deliberation and Agonism: Rethinking Conflict and its Relation to Law in Political Philosophy".

What is the population size/structure and distribution of tiger and leopard inside the Bardia National Park (BNP) compared with the population outside? What is the movement and home range and conflict pattern in time and space of tigers and leopards inside the BNP compared with outside? What constitutes…

How do cultural differences affect conflict escalation and the effectiveness of conflict interventions?

Promotores: G.R. de Snoo, B. Sinsin, Co-Promotor: H.H. de Iongh

How can we solve value conflicts?

Maritime conflict management is the regulation of conflict in relation to the sea. It comprises conflict enforcement, conflict resolution and conflict avoidance. How did victims of maritime conflicts claim and obtain damages or demand compensation or reparation?

Industrialised countries extract natural resources in the territories of indigenous peoples, and appropriate the knowledge and culture of these peoples. Leiden anthropologists work to protect the rights of indigenous peoples. Their knowledge and advice enable governments to source sustainable produc…

Promotores: Prof.dr. G.A. Persoon & Prof. dr. H.H. de Iongh

Violent conflicts all over the world pose a great threat. Not only to the region’s inhabitants, but also to the cultural heritage in the area. This is the subject of the Europe Lecture in The Hague on 13 June.

Should the law and norms applicable to armed conflict include a distinct category covering the transition from armed conflict to peace, jus post bellum, and if so what are its characteristics?

This new study by professor Peter Hoppenbrouwers focuses on conflict in village communities of late medieval Drenthe in order to depict a typical peasant society in late medieval Europe.

This research cluster is a part of the Institute of Political Science’s research programme ‘Institutions, Decisions and Collective Behaviour’. Its members investigate the drivers of political conflict and various types of crises. They study how citizens, political institutions and international organizations…

What is the population size and social structure in time and space? What is the lion diet and food preference in time and space? What is the home range (MCP and Kernel) and movement in time and space? What are human – lion conflict and responses of lions to traditional herding in time and space? What…

Investigate why and how people mobilise around group identities, as well as the institutional arrangements for resolving or reducing ethnic conflict.

PhD Defence

This dissertation focuses on the production and consumption of a mediation show in China that collaborates with the local Justice Bureau and broadcasts on an entertainment channel—exploring answers to questions raised from the mentioned entertainisation, social and political, and cultural issues.

Can you imagine a radically different world? In our times dominated by neoliberal capitalism, we seem to lack not only viable alternatives, but also the capacity to envision anything outside of the status quo.

Jeanine de Roy van Zuijdewijn, researcher and lecturer at ISGA, was interviewed by Deutsche Welle (DW) on the topic of career foreign fighters. This is also the topic of study in her latest publication.

The Faculty of Social and Behavioural Sciences brings together high-quality research and outstanding teaching.

The specialisation Global Conflict in the Modern Era of the master’s in International Relations at Leiden University engages you with the scholarly debates about global conflict today and in the recent past.

The life of a researcher is not easy, as many a scientist will confirm; but doing fieldwork in an environment of conflict and violence is extremely compex, attests the account of Dr Roland Ziébé, veterinarian in Cameroon and researcher at both the Leiden Institute of Environmental Sciences (CML) and…

Are there general principles or values that should govern our actions as moral agents and/or as political subjects?

A comprehensive analysis of Nietzsche's conception of conflict and the way in which relations of struggle condition the organisation of complex systems (with a specific focus on the human psyche and the body politic).

This dissertation addresses the position of artistic research within academia.

Professor of Social and Organisational Psychology Carsten de Dreu has been awarded an Advanced Grant by the European Research Council. This subsidy of 2.5 million euros will allow De Dreu to carry out research on the causes of conflicts between groups at both macro- and micro-level.

The International Workshop 'Maritime Conflicts and their Resolution in Atlantic Europe (13th-17th Centuries)' takes place at the University of La Laguna, Tenerife (Spain) from 21 to 22 April 2017.

New volume in the Jus Post Bellum series

This research programme seeks to understand the dynamics in the relationship between social media, mobile telephony and the social fabric under duress in Africa's mobile margins. It combines studies on mobility/migration, conflict and communication in an attempt to uncover these new dynamics, which…