DEBAT

About us

DEBAT is a political science magazine published four times a year by the Study Association for Political Scientists in Leiden – SPIL. DEBAT is a bilingual magazine with both English and Dutch articles ranging from opinion pieces to scientific columns.

DEBAT is overseen by the Commissioner Internal Relations of SPIL. They are the co-editor-in-chief together with the Chair of the DEBAT Committee. Applications for the DEBAT Committee are open every year in August-September. It is possible to join DEBAT as a editor, writer or/and designer.

DEBAT’s printed issues have a circulation of around 400 copies, and every issue is available at the common rooms of SPIL both in Leiden and in The Hague. There is additionally a possibility to get DEBAT home delivered via a sign-up form promoted before the publication of each issue. The printed issues are automatically delivered to all reunionists of the association.

History of DEBAT

The first DEBAT was published in 1987. It covered Gorbachev’s Soviet Union, West Germany, the iron curtain and the presidential campaign that led to Bush senior to be elected as the 41st president of the United States. Before the foundation of SPIL, DEBAT was an association of its own. In 1988, SPIL was founded on the basis of three associations: Gapende Hoogten, LePSA, and DEBAT. Over the years, DEBAT has seen quite a number of revamps, changing from dèbat, to Debat, and now DEBAT.

When in the autumn of 2017 the decision was made to take DEBAT to the online world, it became a subsite of SPIL’s very own website www.spilplaats.nl. It was a successful experiment, and in 2019, the official DEBAT website was launched.