African Studies Centre Leiden

02/06/2026

How do global power shifts shape the everyday realities of industrial workers?

Join us for a seminar by visiting fellow Robel Mulat Asmammaw, who will explore the complex intersections of development, labour, and geopolitics in Ethiopia’s Hawassa Special Economic Zone (HSEZ), the largest industrial park in Africa.

Drawing on ethnographic research, Robel examines how changing trade regimes and multipolar power dynamics involving China, the United States, and Ethiopian state actors are experienced and interpreted by migrant workers. Moving beyond high-level debates on South–South cooperation and development, the seminar highlights how global economic transformations are lived, negotiated, and contested on the ground.

📅 10 June 2026
🕜 13:30–15:00
📍 Herta Mohr Building, Leiden University (Room 0.31)
💻 https://buff.ly/YTKMgOI


📸 Ermias Abebe

26/05/2026

On Tuesday, 2 June, three subsequent PhD defences will take place at Leiden University within the same research project.

The dissertations by Martin Luther Darko, Kauthar Khamis, and Rashida Adum-Atta each explore everyday forms of religious coexistence in Madina, Accra (Ghana), focusing on healthcare, beauty practices, and food exchange.

Together, these studies highlight how Christians, Muslims, and practitioners of African traditional religions navigate diversity through daily social interactions.

📍 Academy Building, Leiden University
🗓 2 June 2026
🎥 Attendance is possible both in person and via livestream.

This was a collaborative international research project between Utrecht University, the African Studies Centre Leiden, and the University of Ghana.

22/05/2026

🌟 On the occasion of Jon Abbink's emeritus status, the volume 'Ethnography, History, and the Politics of Knowledge in Africa' has been created in his honour. It is a Festschrift to celebrate Abbink's wide-ranging career covering culture and politics in Ethiopia and Africa in general, and methodological and philosophical topics in anthropology. Contributions from colleagues in Leiden, Ethiopia and beyond deal with political analysis concerning a variety of African countries, and historical, methodological and philosophical issues.

The book was handed to Jon during a festive 'Emerite de passage' gathering last Tuesday. But as we all know, a Professor Emeritus never really retires... 😉

Editors: André van Dokkum, Alexander Meckelburg, and Shauna LaTosky

Read the book Open Acces: https://ascleiden.nl/news/ethnography-history-and-politics-knowledge-africa-essays-honour-jon-abbink

15/05/2026

Museum de Fundatie in Zwolle recently announced the restitution of a Benin Bronze to Nigeria. To mark the occasion, the museum organised Back to Benin, an exhibition in which ten contemporary Nigerian artists reflect on the meaning and legacy of the bronze sculptures (running until 7 June).

The acquisition of the exhibition catalogue by the African Library inspired Joris Martens to write a Library Highlight on writings and art relating to the debate on the restitution of African cultural heritage.

Check out the Library Highlight to discover the featured works: https://buff.ly/oyZvnoW

12/05/2026

Are you looking for a master's that offers in-depth knowledge of African realities? Read master student Paula Caz's story about her research semester in Uganda:

"Hi, I’m Paula, a Master’s student in African Studies and I went to Uganda to do fieldwork at the Nakivale Refugee Settlement.

As part of the Master’s programme, all students conduct research in Africa or an Africa-related setting for a period of 2-3 months. In my research, I focused on how refugee children who are left without their parents experience life and education in the settlement. I chose this project in Uganda because I have always been interested in vulnerable groups, and Uganda hosts a huge refugee population. Besides, I joined Winnie Nakkatude's PhD project on access to education for refugee girls.

What I enjoyed most were the personal connections I made along the way. As I stayed in the settlement, I could see my participants every day and truly join their routines and social events. After some time, a beautiful bond was built, and we loved spending time together.

I learned a lot from my time in Uganda. The three most important skills I developed are endurance, gratefulness, and confidence. Although the conditions at the camp could be challenging compared to my life in Leiden, I just had to look around to remember how fortunate I am. I also tried to leave my insecurities behind and just get out there to talk to people and make the most of it.

If you are planning to do fieldwork or research abroad, I would recommend opening your mind! This experience will likely change your life and the way you look at things, so go out there and live every day to the fullest. But don't get too stressed about the research. Organise your time and don't forget to enjoy it!"

Interested? You can still sign up for the MA African Studies until 15 May 👇️
https://www.universiteitleiden.nl/en/education/study-programmes/master/african-studies


Universiteit Leiden / Leiden University Leiden University - Faculty of Humanities LeidenGlobal

11/05/2026

Het African Studies Centre Leiden en De Africast slaan de handen ineen!

Met trots kondigen we een samenwerking aan waarin academische kennis en toegankelijke storytelling samenkomen. De Africast, dé Nederlandstalige podcast over geschiedenis, geopolitiek en ondernemerschap in Afrika, wordt administratief ondergebracht bij het African Studies Centre Leiden (ASCL).

Dankzij deze samenwerking krijgt De Africast toegang tot het brede netwerk, onderzoek en de expertise van het ASCL. Dat biedt nog meer ruimte voor verdiepende gesprekken, scherpe analyses en inspirerende verhalen uit en over Afrika.

De redactionele onafhankelijkheid van De Africast blijft volledig behouden. Voor luisteraars verandert er niets, behalve dat we samen nog meer impact kunnen maken.

Samen brengen we kennis over Afrika dichter bij een breed publiek in Nederland en daarbuiten.

🎧 Ontdek De Africast: https://lnk.to/deafricast

04/05/2026

LAST CALL
🌟 What does it mean to choose hope in a world facing persistent conflict, climate breakdown, and inequality, without slipping into naive optimism or cynicism?

In this seminar, Dr Irene Guijt will explore hope as a deliberate practice and a driver of agency and leadership. Drawing on changemakers across the globe, with particular attention to African contexts, she will examine how hope connects to action, leadership, and systemic change in areas such as rural livelihoods, justice, and democracy.

Rather than seeing hope as passive optimism, this talk asks: How can evidence, learning, and lived experience help us build and sustain hope that fuels real transformation?

📅 07 May 2026
🕓 16:00–17:30
📍 Herta Mohr Building, Leiden (Room 0.31)

🔗 Register here: https://buff.ly/lpW2rRY

01/05/2026

How do smartphones reshape the dynamics of war?

In a new open-access article in African Affairs, Mirjam de Bruijn and Boukary Sangaré explore the evolving “war ecology” of Mali where conflict and digital technologies have grown side by side since 2012.

📖 Read the full open-access article: https://doi.org/10.1093/afraf/adag016

Abstract. The Mali conflict that erupted in 2012 has developed simultaneously with the advancement of new information and communication technologies (ICTs)

29/04/2026

🎉 Congratulations to Antonio Frank, who successfully defended his PhD dissertation 'Policing the Periphery: Party-anchored hybrid policing in Luanda, Angola' on 28 April at Leiden University.

📕 His PhD thesis investigates how hybrid policing networks function in two peri-urban neighbourhoods of Luanda, Angola, by analysing interactions between the police and non-state forms of local authority. His findings show that these networks are MPLA-anchored (Popular Movement for the Liberation of Angola - the Angolan political party that has ruled the country since 1975).



📷️ Antonio with his paranymphs; Proud supervisor Ton Dietz with members of the Exam Committee; Marja Spierenburg, Secretary of the Committee, has handed Antonio his certificate.

28/04/2026

🌟 What does it mean to choose hope in a world facing persistent conflict, climate breakdown, and inequality, without slipping into naive optimism or cynicism?

In this seminar, Dr Irene Guijt will explore hope as a deliberate practice and a driver of agency and leadership. Drawing on changemakers across the globe, with particular attention to African contexts, she will examine how hope connects to action, leadership, and systemic change in areas such as rural livelihoods, justice, and democracy.

Rather than seeing hope as passive optimism, this talk asks: How can evidence, learning, and lived experience help us build and sustain hope that fuels real transformation?

📅 07 May 2026
🕓 16:00–17:30
📍 Herta Mohr Building, Leiden (Room 0.31)

🔗 Register here: https://buff.ly/lpW2rRY