Kristof Bender
@kristofbender.bsky.social
For a strong & democratic Europe. Balkans, Moldova, Ukraine. Asylum policy, HR
Deputy chairperson European Stability Initiative (ESI), Europe’s Futures @iwm.at
www.kristofbender.eu, www.esiweb.org
Deputy chairperson European Stability Initiative (ESI), Europe’s Futures @iwm.at
www.kristofbender.eu, www.esiweb.org
Pinned
Kristof Bender
@kristofbender.bsky.social
· Sep 19
It can happen very quickly
A long out-of-print book offers insights into the collapse of democracy in Austria’s First Republic. Today it is more relevant than ever.
www.esiweb.org
G.E.R. Gedye lived in Vienna as Central Europe correspondent from 1925-1938. I had the privilege to write about his extraordinary yet forgotten book "Fallen Bastions", describing Austria's descent into dictatorship, for @datum.at. It's now also available in English:
www.esiweb.org/cafe-europe/...
www.esiweb.org/cafe-europe/...
From the @newyorker.com (Ivan Ehlers):
January 7, 2026 at 7:34 AM
From the @newyorker.com (Ivan Ehlers):
Reposted by Kristof Bender
"No matter how you slice it, Donald Trump’s invasion of Venezuela is an act of naked aggression. It is blatantly illegal and sets a disturbing precedent of indifference to national sovereignty that tyrants worldwide will be eager to exploit."
www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
www.theguardian.com
January 5, 2026 at 3:27 PM
"No matter how you slice it, Donald Trump’s invasion of Venezuela is an act of naked aggression. It is blatantly illegal and sets a disturbing precedent of indifference to national sovereignty that tyrants worldwide will be eager to exploit."
www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
Clever positioning by Magyar with a view to upcoming elections in Hungary:
🪧Hundreds protested at Slovakia’s embassy in Budapest against a new Slovak law penalizing denial or questioning of the Beneš Decrees—post-WWII rules used to strip Hungarians and Germans of their rights and properties. Opposition leader Péter Magyar even vowed to expel the Slovak ambassador.
January 5, 2026 at 10:40 AM
Clever positioning by Magyar with a view to upcoming elections in Hungary:
Reposted by Kristof Bender
How it started, how it's going:
January 5, 2026 at 9:19 AM
How it started, how it's going:
Reposted by Kristof Bender
The NYT got hold of thousands of official complaints filed by relatives of Russian soldiers fighting in Ukraine. My colleagues and I spent a whole two months going through them and, later, contacting over 200 people. Dozens of them spoke to us.
1/6
www.nytimes.com/interactive/...
1/6
www.nytimes.com/interactive/...
How Russia’s War Machine Brutalizes and Exploits Its Own Soldiers
www.nytimes.com
January 5, 2026 at 9:13 AM
The NYT got hold of thousands of official complaints filed by relatives of Russian soldiers fighting in Ukraine. My colleagues and I spent a whole two months going through them and, later, contacting over 200 people. Dozens of them spoke to us.
1/6
www.nytimes.com/interactive/...
1/6
www.nytimes.com/interactive/...
I kind of like this idea of a "new year's tree". (Also useful for agnostics.)
balkaninsight.com/2025/12/22/i...
balkaninsight.com/2025/12/22/i...
It’s Not a Christmas Tree, It’s a Balkan New Year Tree!
Many Balkan Muslims put up a decorated tree in winter to celebrate New Year – a tradition that’s widely misunderstood by both Christians and some other Muslims.
balkaninsight.com
January 1, 2026 at 7:12 PM
I kind of like this idea of a "new year's tree". (Also useful for agnostics.)
balkaninsight.com/2025/12/22/i...
balkaninsight.com/2025/12/22/i...
Reposted by Kristof Bender
By this day in 2002 all Russian soldiers in Moldova and Georgia were promised to be removed.
They were not. But please believe us when we negotiate now about our soldiers in Ukraine.
They were not. But please believe us when we negotiate now about our soldiers in Ukraine.
December 31, 2025 at 10:42 AM
By this day in 2002 all Russian soldiers in Moldova and Georgia were promised to be removed.
They were not. But please believe us when we negotiate now about our soldiers in Ukraine.
They were not. But please believe us when we negotiate now about our soldiers in Ukraine.
Јуст оут! Ин касе, сомеоне реадс булгариан :-) www.capital.bg/politika_i_i...
Коментар | Разширяването на ЕС: Моментът на бюджетната истина
Брюксел трябва ясно да покаже, че ако кандидатите за членство в съюза предприемат амбициозни реформи, ще намерят отворена врата
www.capital.bg
December 31, 2025 at 1:36 PM
Јуст оут! Ин касе, сомеоне реадс булгариан :-) www.capital.bg/politika_i_i...
Lesenswerter thread!
Die ÖVP versucht es bei Asyl mit Symbolpolitik, aber die wird scheitern. Es wird nichts übrig bleiben vom Familienzusammenführungsstopp - außer dem Leid direkt betroffener Flüchtlingsfamilien. Helfen tut das niemandem ausser der FPÖ.
Die ÖVP versucht es bei Asyl mit Symbolpolitik, aber die wird scheitern. Es wird nichts übrig bleiben vom Familienzusammenführungsstopp - außer dem Leid direkt betroffener Flüchtlingsfamilien. Helfen tut das niemandem ausser der FPÖ.
Kurz vor Weihnachten interviewte Pink Innenminister #Karner.
Betitelt wurde es in @diepressecom.bsky.social mit Zitat "Dramatische Steigerung der Kriminalität bei 10- bis 14-Jährigen".
Vor allem bei Syrern sei es ganz arg.
Eine parlamentarische Anfrage bringt jetzt einen guten Plotttwist 🧵
1/10
Betitelt wurde es in @diepressecom.bsky.social mit Zitat "Dramatische Steigerung der Kriminalität bei 10- bis 14-Jährigen".
Vor allem bei Syrern sei es ganz arg.
Eine parlamentarische Anfrage bringt jetzt einen guten Plotttwist 🧵
1/10
December 30, 2025 at 9:31 AM
Lesenswerter thread!
Die ÖVP versucht es bei Asyl mit Symbolpolitik, aber die wird scheitern. Es wird nichts übrig bleiben vom Familienzusammenführungsstopp - außer dem Leid direkt betroffener Flüchtlingsfamilien. Helfen tut das niemandem ausser der FPÖ.
Die ÖVP versucht es bei Asyl mit Symbolpolitik, aber die wird scheitern. Es wird nichts übrig bleiben vom Familienzusammenführungsstopp - außer dem Leid direkt betroffener Flüchtlingsfamilien. Helfen tut das niemandem ausser der FPÖ.
Goebbels was astonished how the National Socialists could dismantle a federated constitutional republic entirely through constitutional means. “The big joke on democracy,” he observed, “is that it gives its mortal enemies the means to its own destruction.” Read:
www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archiv...
www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archiv...
How Hitler Dismantled a Democracy in 53 Days
He used the constitution to shatter the constitution.
www.theatlantic.com
December 29, 2025 at 5:52 PM
Goebbels was astonished how the National Socialists could dismantle a federated constitutional republic entirely through constitutional means. “The big joke on democracy,” he observed, “is that it gives its mortal enemies the means to its own destruction.” Read:
www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archiv...
www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archiv...
Reposted by Kristof Bender
It’s interesting how the risk awareness that dependence on US systems - be it in digital services, defence, or payment methods - has been internalised fairly quickly in Europe.
National Bank of Sweden chief says Sweden is too dependent on MasterCard and Visa and needs non-American alternatives
National Bank of Sweden chief says Sweden is too dependent on MasterCard and Visa and needs non-American alternatives
Riksbankschef Erik Thedéen: Sverige för beroende av amerikanska kreditkortsföretag - Ekot
Riksbankschef Erik Thedéen anser att Sveriges betalsystem är för beroende av amerikanska kreditkortsföretag som Mastercard och Visa.I nuläget tycker Erik ...
www.sverigesradio.se
December 27, 2025 at 4:01 PM
It’s interesting how the risk awareness that dependence on US systems - be it in digital services, defence, or payment methods - has been internalised fairly quickly in Europe.
National Bank of Sweden chief says Sweden is too dependent on MasterCard and Visa and needs non-American alternatives
National Bank of Sweden chief says Sweden is too dependent on MasterCard and Visa and needs non-American alternatives
500 years ago Jakob Fugger, a wealthy tradesman, built what is widely seen as the world’s first social housing. Still today, the neat houses of the “Fuggerei” in Augsburg (🇩🇪) provide housing for 88 cents per year for catholics “who became poor w/o fault of their own.”
www.zeit.de/geld/2025-12...
www.zeit.de/geld/2025-12...
Fuggerei in Augsburg: Wohnen für 88 Cent und drei Gebete
Während deutschlandweit die Mietpreise explodieren, zahlen die Bewohner der Augsburger Fuggerei für ihr Zuhause nicht mal einen Euro – pro Jahr. Wie funktioniert das?
www.zeit.de
December 21, 2025 at 6:51 AM
500 years ago Jakob Fugger, a wealthy tradesman, built what is widely seen as the world’s first social housing. Still today, the neat houses of the “Fuggerei” in Augsburg (🇩🇪) provide housing for 88 cents per year for catholics “who became poor w/o fault of their own.”
www.zeit.de/geld/2025-12...
www.zeit.de/geld/2025-12...
Reposted by Kristof Bender
Mein Mitgefühl gilt zB den Kolleg:innen aus Bosnien, die vor dem Krieg nach Ö flüchteten, hier seit Jahrzehnten als Leistungsträger:innen in Pflege, Spitälern, Handel oder Industrie arbeiten, Steuern zahlen, ihre Kinder großziehen und dann so etwas lesen müssen. Entschuldigung! Wir sind nicht so.
Das ist das Instagram-Profil der Kanzlerpartei in Österreich. Ihnen geht es längst nicht mehr um die (notwendige) Bekämpfung des Islamismus: Sie wollen absichtlich Ressentiments gegenüber allen Muslimen schüren.
Wann fusionieren sie endlich mit der FPÖ? #Rassismus
Wann fusionieren sie endlich mit der FPÖ? #Rassismus
December 20, 2025 at 1:17 PM
Mein Mitgefühl gilt zB den Kolleg:innen aus Bosnien, die vor dem Krieg nach Ö flüchteten, hier seit Jahrzehnten als Leistungsträger:innen in Pflege, Spitälern, Handel oder Industrie arbeiten, Steuern zahlen, ihre Kinder großziehen und dann so etwas lesen müssen. Entschuldigung! Wir sind nicht so.
Reposted by Kristof Bender
Immigration attorney says her client is a U.S. born citizen who has been kidnapped by ICE.
They filed Habeas Corpus, a judge ruled in their favor, but ICE blatantly disregarded the court order & moved her to a detention facility in Louisiana.
They even have her birth certificate. Unbelievable.
They filed Habeas Corpus, a judge ruled in their favor, but ICE blatantly disregarded the court order & moved her to a detention facility in Louisiana.
They even have her birth certificate. Unbelievable.
December 19, 2025 at 7:18 PM
Immigration attorney says her client is a U.S. born citizen who has been kidnapped by ICE.
They filed Habeas Corpus, a judge ruled in their favor, but ICE blatantly disregarded the court order & moved her to a detention facility in Louisiana.
They even have her birth certificate. Unbelievable.
They filed Habeas Corpus, a judge ruled in their favor, but ICE blatantly disregarded the court order & moved her to a detention facility in Louisiana.
They even have her birth certificate. Unbelievable.
Le prochain budget de l’UE offre l’occasion de restaurer la crédibilité du processus d’adhésion à l’UE. Cela est urgent. Et abordable.
www.courrierdesbalkans.fr/Blog-o-Elarg...
www.courrierdesbalkans.fr/Blog-o-Elarg...
Opinion • Élargissement de l’UE : L’épreuve budgétaire
Le prochain budget de l’UE offre l’occasion de restaurer la crédibilité du processus d’adhésion à l’UE. Cela est urgent. Et abordable.
www.courrierdesbalkans.fr
December 19, 2025 at 3:03 PM
Le prochain budget de l’UE offre l’occasion de restaurer la crédibilité du processus d’adhésion à l’UE. Cela est urgent. Et abordable.
www.courrierdesbalkans.fr/Blog-o-Elarg...
www.courrierdesbalkans.fr/Blog-o-Elarg...
Research by @spiegel.de shows that while the new youth organisation of the #AfD was supposed to be more professional, "behind the facade, there are more radicals and neo-Nazis than in the old one."
www.spiegel.de/politik/deut...
www.spiegel.de/politik/deut...
(S+) »Generation Deutschland«: Wie radikal die neue AfD-Jugendorganisation wirklich ist
Die neue AfD-Jugendorganisation soll professioneller auftreten und weniger Skandale auslösen. Doch SPIEGEL-Recherchen zeigen: Hinter der Fassade tummeln sich mehr Radikale und Neonazis als in der alte...
www.spiegel.de
December 18, 2025 at 9:27 AM
Research by @spiegel.de shows that while the new youth organisation of the #AfD was supposed to be more professional, "behind the facade, there are more radicals and neo-Nazis than in the old one."
www.spiegel.de/politik/deut...
www.spiegel.de/politik/deut...
Reposted by Kristof Bender
18 December 1894 | Jewish woman, Clara Benadon, was born in Thessaloniki. She emigrated to France.
She was deported to #Auschwitz from #Drancy on 13 April 1944. She did not survive.
---
Women at Auschwitz
Lesson: https://lekcja.auschwitz.org/2022_kobiety_en/
Podcast: https://youtu.be/ijTxtbNlJO8
She was deported to #Auschwitz from #Drancy on 13 April 1944. She did not survive.
---
Women at Auschwitz
Lesson: https://lekcja.auschwitz.org/2022_kobiety_en/
Podcast: https://youtu.be/ijTxtbNlJO8
December 18, 2025 at 3:00 AM
18 December 1894 | Jewish woman, Clara Benadon, was born in Thessaloniki. She emigrated to France.
She was deported to #Auschwitz from #Drancy on 13 April 1944. She did not survive.
---
Women at Auschwitz
Lesson: https://lekcja.auschwitz.org/2022_kobiety_en/
Podcast: https://youtu.be/ijTxtbNlJO8
She was deported to #Auschwitz from #Drancy on 13 April 1944. She did not survive.
---
Women at Auschwitz
Lesson: https://lekcja.auschwitz.org/2022_kobiety_en/
Podcast: https://youtu.be/ijTxtbNlJO8
Reposted by Kristof Bender
"Not a reform, a robbery" -- statement I just recorded for a Georgian TV station, on the restructuring of education.
Robbery is the right term, too because of the violent damage being done.
Robbery is the right term, too because of the violent damage being done.
December 18, 2025 at 8:26 AM
"Not a reform, a robbery" -- statement I just recorded for a Georgian TV station, on the restructuring of education.
Robbery is the right term, too because of the violent damage being done.
Robbery is the right term, too because of the violent damage being done.
🇩🇪 plans to spend €650bn on defence from 2025-2030:
* F-35 fighter jets
* Eurofighter Typhoons
* Patriot air defence & IRIS-T air defence systems
* Leopard 2A8 tanks
* Chinook heavy-lift helicopters
* warships & submarines
* protective gear
* billions on ammunition
giftarticle.ft.com/giftarticle/...
* F-35 fighter jets
* Eurofighter Typhoons
* Patriot air defence & IRIS-T air defence systems
* Leopard 2A8 tanks
* Chinook heavy-lift helicopters
* warships & submarines
* protective gear
* billions on ammunition
giftarticle.ft.com/giftarticle/...
Germany set to approve €50bn in military purchases
Bundestag asked to sign off on multibillion contracts, including a €21bn order for soldiers’ protective equipment
giftarticle.ft.com
December 17, 2025 at 12:23 PM
🇩🇪 plans to spend €650bn on defence from 2025-2030:
* F-35 fighter jets
* Eurofighter Typhoons
* Patriot air defence & IRIS-T air defence systems
* Leopard 2A8 tanks
* Chinook heavy-lift helicopters
* warships & submarines
* protective gear
* billions on ammunition
giftarticle.ft.com/giftarticle/...
* F-35 fighter jets
* Eurofighter Typhoons
* Patriot air defence & IRIS-T air defence systems
* Leopard 2A8 tanks
* Chinook heavy-lift helicopters
* warships & submarines
* protective gear
* billions on ammunition
giftarticle.ft.com/giftarticle/...
Reposted by Kristof Bender
"Suggesting that a state might withdraw from the ECHR or ignore CJEU rulings – even if done insincerely for short-term political gains – only normalises the agenda of the far right and reinforces the impression that euroscepticism and anti-immigrant positions were legitimate from the outset" 💯
As Donald Tusk’s rhetoric increasingly echoes Orbán, WOJCIECH ZOMERSKI sounds a warning for democratic restoration:
No force is immune to populism’s temptations, including those who claim to rescue us from it.
verfassungsblog.de/populism-pol...
No force is immune to populism’s temptations, including those who claim to rescue us from it.
verfassungsblog.de/populism-pol...
December 16, 2025 at 3:39 PM
"Suggesting that a state might withdraw from the ECHR or ignore CJEU rulings – even if done insincerely for short-term political gains – only normalises the agenda of the far right and reinforces the impression that euroscepticism and anti-immigrant positions were legitimate from the outset" 💯
Reposted by Kristof Bender
Wie Paris in 10 Jahren seine Luft um 40% verbesserte und so vorzeitige Todesfälle durch Smog halbieren konnte, ist so eine krasse Erfolgsgeschichte. 2019 litten 400.000 Menschen an schlechter Luft. 2023 nur noch 5.000 und nächstes Jahr sollen es Null sein. Für eine 🇪🇺 Großstadt ist das beispiellos❤️
December 17, 2025 at 7:33 AM
Wie Paris in 10 Jahren seine Luft um 40% verbesserte und so vorzeitige Todesfälle durch Smog halbieren konnte, ist so eine krasse Erfolgsgeschichte. 2019 litten 400.000 Menschen an schlechter Luft. 2023 nur noch 5.000 und nächstes Jahr sollen es Null sein. Für eine 🇪🇺 Großstadt ist das beispiellos❤️
On the #EU's power to "regulate the world". Interesting!
"Rather than issuing ever more complex rules and expecting others to fall into line ... Brussels will need to build coalitions around standards that might remain attractive in a more uncertain world."
giftarticle.ft.com/giftarticle/...
"Rather than issuing ever more complex rules and expecting others to fall into line ... Brussels will need to build coalitions around standards that might remain attractive in a more uncertain world."
giftarticle.ft.com/giftarticle/...
giftarticle.ft.com
December 16, 2025 at 7:07 AM
On the #EU's power to "regulate the world". Interesting!
"Rather than issuing ever more complex rules and expecting others to fall into line ... Brussels will need to build coalitions around standards that might remain attractive in a more uncertain world."
giftarticle.ft.com/giftarticle/...
"Rather than issuing ever more complex rules and expecting others to fall into line ... Brussels will need to build coalitions around standards that might remain attractive in a more uncertain world."
giftarticle.ft.com/giftarticle/...
Reposted by Kristof Bender
[Opinion] #FutureOfEurope: If the #EU wants enlargement, now it’s time to put money on the table, by @kristofbender.bsky.social | EUObserver
euobserver.com/eu-and-the-w...
euobserver.com/eu-and-the-w...
If the EU wants enlargement, now it’s time to put money on the table
There is talk of new momentum in the EU accession process. However, when EU citizens think about EU enlargement, 37 percent are concerned about “costs to European taxpayers,” according to Eurobaromete...
euobserver.com
December 15, 2025 at 11:29 AM
[Opinion] #FutureOfEurope: If the #EU wants enlargement, now it’s time to put money on the table, by @kristofbender.bsky.social | EUObserver
euobserver.com/eu-and-the-w...
euobserver.com/eu-and-the-w...
