This research contributes to the following Sustainable Development Goals, among others:

Governance and society

A puzzle of organisations, people and interests

Governance is a complex puzzle of organisations, people and divergent interests. Academic research in this field furthers our knowledge of the role of public administrators, of different organisational structures, of the people who work at such organisations and of how these organisations implement policy. Armed with this knowledge, authorities become better in their work and are able to respond to continuous changes in society. As a result we, the public, can live in a society that represents our norms and values.

Putting the public first

Leiden University has a long tradition of research into governance. Its researchers want to understand the decisions and behaviour of politicians and public administrators. They also study the structure of public organisations and how this structure affects how the work is done. The consequences for the public are an important aspect of this research. The researchers look into questions such as whether the chosen policy and its implementation is actually what the majority voted for in democratic elections and how public administrators and organisations can ensure that this is the case.

Internationalisation and changing roles

The research is driven by two recent developments. The first of these is internationalisation. International policies increasingly affect the citizens of different states. Examples of this include international banking supervision to prevent fraud or a new banking crisis and international collaboration in counterterrorism. The second development is the changing role of citizens and civil servants. An example of this changing role is that civil servants are more likely to implement policy in collaboration with the public. With these developments in mind, the researchers look at four interrelated ‘levels’ of governance: the local, the national, the EU and the world.

Close-up view of governance in action

Leiden’s experts work in The Hague, the administrative heart of the Netherlands, and are closely involved in real-life governance. Ministries, municipalities and other organisations regularly ask them for advice or an expert interpretation of an issue, and they thus help ensure that various policies are implemented properly. The areas in which they have advised range from the expansion of the EU and the establishment of the national police force in the Netherlands to changes in the health care sector.

Faculty of Governance and Global Affairs
Leiden Law School

Themes

Experts

Prof.dr. B. Steunenberg Scientific Director/Professor Public administration, including the institutional economy of the public sector Topics: digitalisation, discourses, european governance, institutional change, multilevel governance, policy games, policy implementation
Prof.dr. M.O. Hosli Professor International Relations Topics: conflict resolution, european integration, global governance, governance, international organisations, international political economy
Dr. D.D. Toshkov Associate Professor Topics: central and eastern europe, european governance, european union, legitimacy, migration, public policy
Dr. B.J. Carroll Assistant professor Topics: comparative public policy, european governance, european union, political administrative relations, public administration
Dr. R. de Ruiter Associate Professor Topics: european integration, european parliament, national parliaments, new modes of governance, public administration
Prof.mr. S.C.G. Van den Bogaert Professor European Law Topics: competition law, four freedoms, sports law
Dr. J. van der Voet Associate professor Topics: cutback management, leadership, public management, public sector innovation, public sector reform
Dr. J. Schalk Guest Topics: healthcare, higher education policy, networks, public administration, public management, sustainability, transnational regulatory governance
Dr. J.E.T. Schmidt Assistant professor Topics: change management, cutback management, leadership, population health management, public administration, public management, public values
Dr. T.S. Ashikali Assistant professor Topics: diversity, inclusion, leadership, public administration, public management
Prof.dr. S.M. Groeneveld Professor Public Management Topics: change management, diversity management, leadership, organisations, public administration, public sector management
Prof.dr. A.K. Yesilkagit Professor International Governance Topics: bureaucracy, democratic backsliding, governance, international governance, public administration, public sector reform, regulatory governance
Prof.dr. A.L. Dimitrova Professor Comparative Governance Topics: administrative reform, central and eastern europe, democratic backsliding, european external relations, european governance, global governance, governance, political legitimacy, ukraine
Prof.dr. A.C. Wille Professor by Special Appointment Transitions in the Public Sector Topics: european governance, executive politics, international governance, participation, policy analysis, public accountability, public administration, public policy, trust
Prof.dr. C.H.J.M. Braun Professor Public Governance and Civil Society Topics: advocacy, bureaucracy, decision-making, interest groups, public administration, regulatory governance
Prof.dr. C.F. van den Berg Professor by special appointment Transitions in the Public Sector Topics: comparative bureaucracy, europeanization of domestic governance, governance and the media, politicization and political-administrative relations, politics, public administration, public affairs
Dr. J. Christensen Associate professor Topics: decision making, economic governance, policy-making, public administration, public policy, the uses of evidence in the policy making process
Dr. J.E. Larik Assistant Professor Topics: brexit, comparative law, eu external relations, european law, global governance, international justice, peace
Dr. D.W.L. Ehrhardt Associate Professor Topics: africa, conflict, development, governance
Dr. B.C. Zicha Assistant Professor Topics: decision-making, governance, institutions
Prof.dr. A. Timmermans Associate professor Topics: coalition politics, comparative public policy, lobbying, political agenda setting, public administration, public affairs, public policy
Prof.dr. R.A. Boin Professor of Public Institutions and Governance Topics: crisis and disaster management, crisis management, disaster coordination, european union crisis (management), institutional resilience, public institutions, reputation management
Prof.dr. R.A. Koole Professor emeritus Politicologie Topics: dutch politics, party financing, party regulation, policitical science, political legitimacy
Dr. F. de Zwart Ph.D. Guest Topics: comparative politics, policy analysis, political legitimacy
Dr. N.J.G. van Willigen Director of Studies/Associate Professor Topics: diplomacy, european security, foreign policy, international relations, political science, security studies, united nations

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