The research of the Afrika-Studiecentrum Leiden covers four themes: politics and security, society, religion and culture, and economics and history.

Other areas of research are language use in social movements in Africa, new developments in healthcare through telecommunications and e-health (electronic health), natural conservation and African historiography.

The Afrika-Studiecentrum publishes scientific articles and various books about its research, in-house or in collaboration with publishers such as Brill, including the Africa Yearbook and the series African Dynamics, the African Studies Collection, and the Africa Study Center Series.

[3] The centre was founded on 12 August 1947 as the academic division of an Afrika Instituut, which initially also had an economic section, later spun off as the Netherlands-African Business Council.

Over the years, many well-known Dutch Africanists have worked at the African Studies Centre, including the poet Vernie February, the activist Klaas de Jonge,[4] the sociologist Robert Buijtenhuijs and the law professor and film director Emile van Rouveroy van Nieuwaal.

[6][7] Petrus Johannes Idenburg, lector of African constitutional law at Leiden University, was one of the founders of the centre.