Koninklijk Instituut voor Taal-, Land- en Volkenkunde
Royal Netherlands Institute of Southeast Asian and Caribbean Studies

The KITLV is a research institute about the past and present in Southeast Asia and the Caribbean. KITLV aims to be a world-class research institute for the study of Southeast Asia and the Caribbean, with a focus on Indonesia and the ‘Dutch’ Caribbean, in an interdisciplinary and comparative perspective. Our researchers explore (dis)continuities between the (pre)colonial and postcolonial period, and articulate their research agendas empirically and theoretically in order to advance wider debates on the meandering paths of globalization. KITLV engages with the academic community across the world, as well as with (inter)national governmental organizations, NGOs, the media, and the interested general public. KITLV is an institute of the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences (KNAW). Read more.

KITLV invests in three long-term research themes: Governance of climate change adaptation state, Mobility and belonging  and Violence and citizenship.