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Kristof Bender

@kristofbender.bsky.social
1K followers 444 following 530 posts

For a strong & democratic Europe. Balkans, Moldova, Ukraine. Asylum policy, HR Deputy chair European Stability Initiative (ESI), Europe’s Futures @iwm.at kristofbender.eu, www.esiweb.org

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Kristof Bender @kristofbender.bsky.social · 21h
The taboo against the use of nuclear weapons is still very powerful, writes @gideonrachman.bsky.social, not least b/c China and India (and, likely, the US) have warned Putin against it. giftarticle.ft.com/giftarticle/...
giftarticle.ft.com
Putin’s nuclear threats no longer work
The weakening of Russian deterrence has global implications — and they are not all positive
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Kate from Kharkiv @kateinkharkiv.bsky.social · 09/10/2026
Montenegro has detained the head of the Russian Z-propaganda network RYBAR, Mikhail Zvinchuk, who has a whopping 1.5 million subscribers on Telegram alone. ​Mikhail decided to go to Montenegro despite being sanctioned. ​This is a very big catch, but the question is what Montenegro will do next.
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Kristof Bender @kristofbender.bsky.social · 09/10/2026
Good choice in times when Trump's US tries to strangle the ICC! www.nobelprize.org/prizes/peace...
nobelprize.org
Nobel Peace Prize 2026
The Nobel Peace Prize 2026 was awarded to Navanethem "Navi" Pillay "for her efforts to promote peace and international law."
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Elisalex Henckel @elisalexhenckel.bsky.social · 09/10/2026
The Embassy of Ukraine in Austria has contacted the Austrian authorities to request an explanation of the circumstances surrounding the detention in Vienna of Mykhailo Tkach, head of the investigative journalism department at Ukrainska Pravda. www.pravda.com.ua/eng/news/202...
pravda.com.ua
Ukraine's Foreign Ministry seeks answers over detention of UP journalist Mykhailo Tkach in Vienna
The Embassy of Ukraine in Austria has asked Austrian authorities to explain the detention of Ukrainska Pravda investigative journalist Mykhailo Tkach. He remains in custody despite a Ukrainian consul ...
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Kristof Bender @kristofbender.bsky.social · 06/10/2026
As if we hadn't enough problems already ... (gift article) giftarticle.ft.com/giftarticle/...
giftarticle.ft.com
France: between the bond market and the barricades
The country is being hit by a pre-election debt sell-off. Many fear it could shake the Eurozone
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Kristof Bender @kristofbender.bsky.social · 04/10/2026
Violently anti-Muslim rhetoric, a celebration of the general convicted of genocide: This is not 1992, but as #Bosnia votes today, core ingredients that made conflict in 1992 possible are on the table again. New: Celebrating genocide – The horror of failure on the Drina www.esiweb.org/newsletter/c...
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Kristof Bender @kristofbender.bsky.social · 02/10/2026
I remember the old one, once took it from Villach to Athens, in 1990.
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Gwendolyn Sasse @gwendolynsasse.bsky.social · 01/10/2026
Glad to see first academic and first outreach article published from an international interdisciplinary project initiated by #KonKoop @zois.bsky.social on dimensions of psychological impact of war in #Ukraine theconversation.com/one-in-three...
theconversation.com
One in three Ukrainian civilians estimated to meet the criteria for PTSD or complex PTSD – new study
War-related trauma now affects most people in Ukraine and presents a major threat to the country’s resiliance in the face of continuing Russian aggression.
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Szabolcs Panyi @szabolcspanyi.bsky.social · 01/10/2026
💥"Ukraine and Hungary reached an agreement (...) There was a Zoom call last night. The minister, the deputy prime minister, all the factions were there. We talked literally until late at night. There is a strong chance that on Monday we will pass the draft law." @gonzotusk.bsky.social
liga.net
"We were still drafting late into the night": How Kyiv and Budapest finally reached a deal on Transcarpathia
Kyiv and Budapest have been speaking different languages for years. What changed in the past two days – and is this really a new beginning?
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Kristof Bender @kristofbender.bsky.social · 01/10/2026
Trump aims to dismantle the International Criminal Court. It is a direct assault on the only permanent international court in the world that can put on trial powerful men for the most outrageous crimes – crimes against humanity, war crimes and genocide. New ESI newsletter: esiweb.org/newsletter/f...
esiweb.org
Fighting evil? Donald Trump and the attack on the ICC
As human rights institutions are under attack - from the ICC to the European Court of Justice, from the Council of Europe to UNHCR – building support for defending them is more important than ever.
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Kristof Bender @kristofbender.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
2000 pupils, 70% with a „migration story“, but hardly any leave this school in Hesse without a school-leaving certificate (as Germans say). Very interesting and encouraging piece why this school is so successful (in German). It should be replicable. www.zeit.de/2026/42/bert...
zeit.de
Bertha-von-Suttner-Schule: Hat diese Brennpunktschule in Hessen die Lösung für die Bildungskrise?
Migranten mit schlechtem Deutsch, Kinder mit schlechten Aussichten – aber ein großer Teil besteht das Abitur. Wie die Bertha-von-Suttner-Schule das geschafft hat
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Alejandra Caraballo @esqueer.net · 27/09/2026
Google finally updated some of its satellite images of Gaza and my god, it's horrific. The entirety of Rafah has been demolished. The majority of Khan Younis is in ruins. Entire towns completely leveled and erased of the map.
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Kristof Bender @kristofbender.bsky.social · 27/09/2026
#Salzburg
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Kristof Bender @kristofbender.bsky.social · 27/09/2026
Today #Bulgaria is a #Schengen member. Nearly 30 years ago it struggled to get visa-free travel to Schengen. Some time ago at ESI we did a portrait of Nadezhda Mihaylova, who made it happen. Still interesting reading. Clear criteria mean leverage and influence! www.esiweb.org/cafe-europe/...
esiweb.org
Breaching Bulgaria’s Schengen Wall
Nadezhda Mihaylova was Bulgarian foreign minister in Ivan Kostov’s reform government from 1997-2001. “When I visited Brussels for the first time it was like the first day in school, when you go and no...
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Kristof Bender @kristofbender.bsky.social · 25/09/2026
Interesting map! In Europe: Spain, Ireland, Slovenia, Bosnia, North Macedonia and Turkey. 4 out of 6 from SEE!
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Kristof Bender @kristofbender.bsky.social · 25/09/2026
For years I visited West Balkan-EU borders. Some of these trips I documented. Here is Hungary-Serbia (2022): kristofbender.eu/photo-storie... And here Greece-North Macedonia (2016): kristofbender.eu/photo-storie...
kristofbender.eu
Along the Greek-Macedonian border. February and December 2016
A photo story along the Greek-Macedonian border in 2016, tracing the fence, the mountains and the unguarded stretches where over a million refugees and migrants crossed
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Kristof Bender @kristofbender.bsky.social · 25/09/2026
Borders can be moved. They can also be made invisible. In the Western Balkans, Europe has a choice about which path to take. A process to join Schengen for the WB would give a welcome boost to EU credibility. It would also contribute to lasting peace in the region. balkaninsight.com/2026/09/25/b...
balkaninsight.com
Bringing the Balkans into Schengen: a Win-Win Scenario for Europe
Inviting Western Balkan countries into Europe’s borderless travel area would ease their frontier disputes and revive EU credibility at the same time.
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Kristof Bender @kristofbender.bsky.social · 25/09/2026
Right move! balkaninsight.com/2026/09/24/b...
balkaninsight.com
Bosnia Dismisses Two Soldiers for Glorifying Ratko Mladic
Defence Ministry terminates contracts of two soldiers who honoured the legacy of convicted Bosnian Serb war criminal.
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London Review of Books @lrb.co.uk · 24/09/2026
‘Shiber and Bonnefous were respectable middle-class women who had no history of challenging the authorities. But confronted with the Vichy regime and the Occupation they felt they had to act.’ Daniel Lee on women of the French resistance. www.lrb.co.uk/the-paper/v4...
lrb.co.uk
Daniel Lee · Night and Fog: Women of the Resistance
Etta Shiber’s account of life in Nazi-occupied Paris shows a vivid domestic world seldom seen in comparable memoirs....
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Kristof Bender @kristofbender.bsky.social · 24/09/2026
Die EU sollte den Westbalkanstaaten einen Fahrplan für den Beitritt in den Schengen-Raum anbieten. Wäre ein nötiger Schub für die Glaubwürdigkeit der EU. Und Grenzen unsichtbar zu machen würde helfen, Grenzstreitigkeiten zu überwinden, und zu dauerhaftem Frieden beitragen. www.nzz.ch/meinung/gren...
nzz.ch
Der Westbalkan und die EU: Grenzen unsichtbar machen, statt sie zu verschieben
Trotz der Ambition, auch die Sprache der Machtpolitik zu beherrschen, tut sich die EU schwer damit, in ihrer unmittelbaren Nachbarschaft Einfluss auszuüben. Das betrifft vor allem den Westbalkan, wo s...
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The Economist @economist.com · 23/09/2026
Individual incidents may appear random, but as a whole they show a pattern of disruption and intelligence gathering. They are calibrated to be large enough to have an impact while remaining below the threshold that would prompt a NATO military response
bit.ly
Russia’s grey-zone attacks on Europe are growing more brazen
The Europeans will have to start fighting back
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Henry Foy @henryjfoy.ft.com · 23/09/2026
So it's official. EU sanctions on Russia are no longer only for the benefit of Ukraine's existential fight against Moscow's invasion - they are now currency for EU capitals to trade for prisoners. Welcome to the Brussels bazaar.
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Bellingcat @bellingcat.com · 22/09/2026
A UN fact-finding mission has claimed that a Feb. 28 missile strike on the Shajareh Tayyebeh school in Minab, Iran, that killed more than 150 people likely constitutes a war crime. Bellingcat was the first to identify the weapon that hit the school as a US Tomahawk missile.
youtube.com
Video Analysis Shows Two Waves of Bombings in Iran Elementary School Strike
YouTube video by Bellingcat
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Henry Mance @henrymance.ft.com · 21/09/2026
four more years! four more years! 🥳 www.theguardian.com/technology/2...
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Anton Shekhovtsov @shekhovtsov.substack.com · 21/09/2026
A journalist asked what I thought about the elections in Russia. I said that elections in Russia would be a great thing, and I look forward to seeing them.
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The Economist @economist.com · 21/09/2026
China’s young people are struggling in a brutal job market that has upended people’s expectations of what it takes to succeed in the country bit.ly/4xZltgl Photo: Qilai Shen/The New York Times/Redux/Eyevine
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Paula Erizanu @paulaerizanu.bsky.social · 21/09/2026
Drones violating Moldovan airspace have become more and more frequent over the past few days. On Saturday, a drone exploded in the centre, and another flying object was recorded in the northeastern region of the country last night www.zdg.md/stiri/o-dron...
zdg.md
O dronă a survolat R. Moldova. Spațiul aerian a fost restricționat în zona de nord a țării
Serviciul operații aeriene al R. Moldova informează că la data de 21 septembrie 2026, ora 00:17, sistemele de supraveghere din dotare au detectat în spațiul aerian național traversarea neautorizată a ...
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Kristof Bender @kristofbender.bsky.social · 18/09/2026
In 1995 more than 8000 Bosnian Muslims were killed by Serb forces around Srebrenica. Tens of thousands of their descendants returned. Yesterday evening I passed the downtown mosque in Zvornik. No one was there, but all doors were unlocked. I could just walk in. Unimaginable in many other countries.
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Financial Times @financialtimes.com · 18/09/2026
The west must hurry to catch up with Ukraine on AI combat ft.trib.al/BTglEx8
ft.trib.al
The west must hurry to catch up with Ukraine on AI combat
Technological innovations mean that the terms of military conflict have changed — forever
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Kristof Bender @kristofbender.bsky.social · 18/09/2026
Europe 2026.
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Oliver Das Gupta @oliverdasgupta.bsky.social · 14/09/2026
Servus Österreich 🇦🇹 Die radikal rechte #FPÖ feiert nun Jörg Haider - große #Heuchelei. Herbert Kickl und seine Kader wollen vergessen machen, wie übel sie #Haider vor seinem Unfalltod geschmäht haben - rassistisch, homophob und als nicht mehr ganz bei Trost. Eine Auswahl: #Thread 1) „Türken-Jörg“
OTS
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22.03.2006, 12:01:04 / OTS0133 OTW0133
Vilimsky: "Türken-Jörg" macht sich einmal mehr zur obersten Lachnummer in Österreich!
FPÖ kann ohne Haider wieder ehrliche Politik in rot-weiß-rot machen und steigt von Umfrage zu Umfrage
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Kristof Bender @kristofbender.bsky.social · 14/09/2026
The Russian House in Berlin may lose its treaty basis for operating as a cultural institution, but the Russian Federation’s property title will be much more difficult to terminate, argues Bernhard Knoll-Tudor in @verfassungsblog.de. Thorough legal analysis: verfassungsblog.de/closing-with...
verfassungsblog.de
Closing Without Closure
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Kristof Bender @kristofbender.bsky.social · 11/09/2026
What is true about the stories of "sniper safaris" in besieged Sarajevo? Allegedly, "tourists" payed a lot to be allowed to shoot from Serb positions on civilians. In a 10-minutes documentary, BIRN and @artefr.bsky.social show that evidence is scarce and contradictory. www.arte.tv/en/videos/12...
arte.tv
Sarajevo: Were there really sniper safaris? - Watch the full documentary | ARTE in English
"Human safaris" carried out during the Bosnian War in the mid-1990s. During the siege of Sarajevo, wealthy Europeans are alleged to have paid to shoot at civilians from Bosnian Serb sniper posts. Thes...
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Paula Erizanu @paulaerizanu.bsky.social · 11/09/2026
Chilling polls in Romania: far right AUR scores 39,7%, centre left PSD: 18,7%, centre right PNL: 16,3%, centre right USR: 9% in opinion polls amp.dw.com/ro/aur-e-la-...
amp.dw.com
Sondaj INSCOP: AUR e la 40%. PSD și PNL nu au împreună atât
AUR conduce detașat în preferințele românilor pentru parlamentare, cu aproape 40% din voturi, potrivit celui mai recent Barometru INSCOP Research. PSD și PNL ocupă următoarele poziții, la mică distanț...
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Kristof Bender @kristofbender.bsky.social · 10/09/2026
9 years ago Daphne Caruana Galizia was assassinated. Nobody has been convicted of ordering her murder. @omtzigt.bsky.social & Emanuel Delia argue that much of the corruption she exposed remains unpunished and that it’s high time for Europe to pay attention again. www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
theguardian.com
Nine years after Daphne Caruana Galizia’s murder, Europe must finally address Malta’s culture of impunity | Pieter Omtzigt and Emanuel Delia
Much of the corruption exposed by this brave woman remains unpunished. Brussels must carry on her work and demand reform, say Pieter Omtzigt of the Council of Europe and campaigner Emanuel Delia
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Kristof Bender @kristofbender.bsky.social · 09/09/2026
My work space today
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Kristof Bender @kristofbender.bsky.social · 08/09/2026
What would #Austria do in the case of a Russian attack on another EU member? It could hide behind its neutrality or declare it a direct attack, which would suspend neutrality. It is a political decision. It should be the latter. And 🇦🇹 should prepare for it now. www.derstandard.at/story/300000...
derstandard.at
Und wenn der Krieg nach Österreich kommt?
An erster Stelle sollte nicht Österreichs Neutralität stehen, sondern Österreichs Sicherheit. Das ist nicht dasselbe
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Szabolcs Panyi @szabolcspanyi.bsky.social · 08/09/2026
💥BREAKING: Péter Magyar's Hungarian government expels 10 Russian diplomats from Budapest for violating the Vienna Convention, foreign minister Anita Orbán just announced—the first official expulsion since the Skripal poisoning in 2018. As the 1956 graffiti on the wall said: "Russians, go home.”
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Kristof Bender @kristofbender.bsky.social · 06/09/2026
Exit poll-based estimate for elections in #Sachsen-Anhalt. No absolute majority for AfD, but BSW narrowly represented as well. This means no majority for CDU, SDP, Greens and Linke taken together. Actual results might differ considerably.
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Brian Finucane @bcfinucane.bsky.social · 05/09/2026
Occasional reminder that there is an ICC arrest warrant against Putin for war crimes in connection with the mass abduction of Ukrainian children.
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Anton Gerashchenko @antongerashchenko.bsky.social · 06/09/2026
Canadian PM Mark Carney: I’ve met Putin in the past, multiple times. He only understands strength and directness. And the message would be simple: get out of Ukraine, give back all of Ukraine to Ukraine, end this war, which is killing more than 30,000 of your people every single month.
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Kristof Bender @kristofbender.bsky.social · 06/09/2026
Why Saxony-Anhalt Matters New ESI newsletter The German constitution provides for the opportunity to have the constitutional court examine if a party should be banned because it threatens the constitutional order. CDU should join SDP and Greens. And use it! www.esiweb.org/newsletter/w...
esiweb.org
Why Saxony-Anhalt Matters – Call to action – Dessau 1932 to 2026
Can a party, the Alternative für Deutschland or Alternative for Germany (AfD) which the State Office for the Protection of the Constitution has classified as far-right extremist, take over a regional ...
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Kristof Bender @kristofbender.bsky.social · 05/09/2026
“It is not part of the concept of democracy that it creates the preconditions for its own abolition … One must also have the courage to be intolerant towards those who want to use democracy to kill it.” (Carlo Schmid, SDP, 1948) Why Germany's Grundgesetz is as it is. #Saxony-Anhalt #elections
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The Economist @economist.com · 30/08/2026
Romania is not usually seen as a green pioneer. But the country’s approach to boosting its solar energy capacity could be a model for other European countries
bit.ly
Europe’s new renewable-energy champion is a surprise
Romania is leading the EU in combining solar power and batteries
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The Economist @economist.com · 29/08/2026
Donald Trump is no lame duck. Foreign governments should forget this dream and instead study mountain gorillas—and the violence of which an ageing silverback male is capable, when it senses its time is up
bit.ly
As his presidency flounders, Donald Trump is more dangerous than ever
Forget lame ducks. America’s president will defend his dominance like an ageing silverback gorilla
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Kristof Bender @kristofbender.bsky.social · 28/08/2026
Important! Germany's social democratic defence minister Boris Pistorius & Baden-Württemberg's Green PM Cem Özdemir call in a joint op-ed in @faznet.bsky.social to start party-ban proceedings against the AfD at Germany's constitutional court. Time for CDU to fall in line! www.faz.net/aktuell/poli...
faz.net
Cem Özdemir und Boris Pistorius plädieren für ein Verbot des völkischen Teils der AfD
Die NPD wurde nicht verboten, weil sie zu unbedeutend war. Das ist ein starkes Argument dafür, die AfD vom Bundesverfassungsgericht prüfen zu lassen.
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Kristof Bender @kristofbender.bsky.social · 28/08/2026
😂😂😂
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Thorsten Benner @tbenner.bsky.social · 28/08/2026
Europeans would be well advised to believe that positions like those of J. Kavanagh & Justin Logan will gain currency with post-Trump administrations regardless of whether Republican or Democrat. And act accordingly working towards taking 🇪🇺defense fully into European hands.
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Franz-Stefan Gady @hoanssolo.bsky.social · 27/08/2026
“Long-range strike is what both sides do because it’s the one domain where they can still act when the ground war is stalemated. It will likely get steadily more destructive without being decisive.”
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