Ben Tonra
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bentonra.bsky.social
Ben Tonra
@bentonra.bsky.social
4K followers 870 following 2K posts

Professor of International Relations at UCD Dublin; Dundrum Methodist Church; Royal Irish Academy; Azure Forum, IDSA and Gym Dad. Mix of Mayo, Kerry, West Virginia and suburban Maryland.

Videos
Political science 84%
Sociology 11%
Posts Replies Media Videos

Reposted by Ben Tonra

lightnews.app
Lightnews @lightnews.app · 15h
Bundesbank urges eurobonds, Germany objects

Bundesbank chief urged EU leaders at an Antwerp competitiveness summit to endorse common European debt (eurobonds), a proposal Germany’s government opposed.

With replies by 🎓Isabel M. Schnabel, 🎓Benjamin Braun, 🎓Laurent Pech +13 more scholars.
Bundesbank urges eurobonds, Germany objects
Replies by 🎓Isabel M. Schnabel, 🎓Benjamin Braun, 🎓Laurent Pech, 🎓Jussi T. Eronen, 🎓Ulrich Speck +11 more scholars
www.lightnews.app

Reposted by Ben Tonra

kristiankiehling.bsky.social
Kristian Kiehling @kristiankiehling.bsky.social · 15h
"We are describing a serious threat scenario," said Beate Gangås, Chief of the Norwegian Police Security Service (PST) "Russian crews on board civilian vessels registered in a third country pose a significant threat in the realm of covert maritime intelligence in 2026."
Police: Russian crew members pose a significant espionage threat
Covert maritime intelligence from non-Russian flag ships gives Russia an overview of military capacities and infrastructure along the coast and on the seabed, Norway's Police Security Service warns.
www.thebarentsobserver.com

Reposted by Ben Tonra

johnnyryan.bsky.social
Johnny Ryan @johnnyryan.bsky.social · 15h
Ireland’s upcoming EU Council presidency (July - December) should focus on these questions. But the it is unlikely to do so. It is too easy to ignore these challenges in the short term and allow them to become crises.

Reposted by Ben Tonra

johnnyryan.bsky.social
Johnny Ryan @johnnyryan.bsky.social · 15h
This (missing) national planning exercise is the mirror to the EU Council debate about fixing the fragmentation of Europe’s services market and capital market to allow EU growth, stimulate domestic consumption rather than export growth, and compete with U.S., China.

Reposted by Ben Tonra

johnnyryan.bsky.social
Johnny Ryan @johnnyryan.bsky.social · 15h
Who should do this planning inside Irish officialdom? Senior trade/enterprise officials are probably culturally unable to confront this. So, start inside the department of foreign affairs. Built it into something that the Taoiseachs team convenes.

Reposted by Ben Tonra

johnnyryan.bsky.social
Johnny Ryan @johnnyryan.bsky.social · 15h
We need to start designing Plan B: prepare for the collapse of Plan A (alignment to US and economic growth based on massive US tech & pharma corporate investment). Is anyone in government gaming possible B plans?

Reposted by Ben Tonra

johnnyryan.bsky.social
Johnny Ryan @johnnyryan.bsky.social · 15h
I said this quietly to senior officials in Ireland over the last 12 months. Now it requires public statement.

Ireland became rich because -among other reasons- it is the venue where US tech firms can operate in Europe with relative impunity. But this strategy may not last much longer.

bentonra.bsky.social
Ben Tonra @bentonra.bsky.social · 1d
💯

Reposted by Ben Tonra

eugenemcparland.bsky.social
Eugene McParland 🇺🇦 @eugenemcparland.bsky.social · 1d
After four years of war, Europe has stepped up support for #Ukraine, compensating for reduced U.S. aid

Despite the halt of US support, the total volume of aid allocated to Ukraine remained relatively stable in 2025, primarily due to the markedly expanded support from Europe.

Source: Kiel Institute
Ukraine support after 4 years of war: Europe steps up
Despite the halt of US support, the total volume of aid allocated to Ukraine remained relatively stable in 2025, primarily due to the markedly expanded support from Europe. European military aid rose ...
www.kielinstitut.de

bentonra.bsky.social
Ben Tonra @bentonra.bsky.social · 1d
Europeanisation of NATO to proceed apace.

Reposted by Ben Tonra

politico.com
Politico @politico.com · 1d
US signals limited military pullback from Europe
US signals limited military pullback from Europe
“We will continue to show up,” America's ambassador to NATO said.
dlvr.it

Reposted by Ben Tonra

tobiasbunde.bsky.social
Tobias Bunde @tobiasbunde.bsky.social · 1d
The report of our European Nuclear Study Group, co-chaired by James W. Davis, Claudia Major and me, is online now: securityconference.org/en/publicati... Our co-authors: Janina Dill, Héloïse Fayet, Liviu Horovitz, Łukasz Kulesa, Andreas Lutsch, Michal Onderco, Jintro Pauly, Julian Wucherpfennig.
Cover of the report of the European Nuclear Study Group - title: "Managing the Deterrence Gap: Assessing Europe's Nuclear Options." The report is part of a joint project of the Munich Security Conference, the Centre for International Security at the Hertie School, and the Institute of Political Science at the University of St. Gallen.

bentonra.bsky.social
Ben Tonra @bentonra.bsky.social · 1d
“They’re here”

👽
dfourny.bsky.social Diane Fourny @dfourny.bsky.social · 1d
F.A.A. Halts All Flights at El Paso Airport for 10 Days www.nytimes.com/2026/02/11/u.... This is more than curious. Trump regime up to no good perhaps.
F.A.A. Halts All Flights at El Paso Airport for 10 Days
www.nytimes.com

Reposted by Ben Tonra

dfourny.bsky.social
Diane Fourny @dfourny.bsky.social · 1d
F.A.A. Halts All Flights at El Paso Airport for 10 Days www.nytimes.com/2026/02/11/u.... This is more than curious. Trump regime up to no good perhaps.
F.A.A. Halts All Flights at El Paso Airport for 10 Days
www.nytimes.com

Reposted by Ben Tonra

profjacob.bsky.social
Jacob Öberg @profjacob.bsky.social · 1d
🚨🚨Welcome news: The #EU is hatching an unprecedented plan that could give #Ukraine partial #membership in the bloc as early as next year, as Brussels tries to shore up the country’s position in Europe and away from #Moscow. 🧵
www.politico.eu/article/5-st...
5 steps to get Ukraine into the EU in 2027
Plans to bring Kyiv into the tent before it has completed all reforms and to remove Hungary’s veto signal a sense of urgency in Brussels.
www.politico.eu

Reposted by Laurent Pech, Ben Tonra, Michael Jones‐Correa , and 2 more

jameeljaffer.bsky.social
Jameel Jaffer @jameeljaffer.bsky.social · 2d
"Appeasement is being coordinated while resistance is not" is exactly right. (This op-ed from Arne Duncan and David Pressman is excellent; I hope university leaders will read it.) www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/202...
Opinion | Universities are sending Trump a dangerous message
Higher education is under attack. Drop the appeasement.
www.washingtonpost.com

Reposted by Ben Tonra

gmfus.bsky.social
German Marshall Fund @gmfus.bsky.social · 2d
🇩🇪 As international relations harden, Europe must find a way to safeguard its interests, write GMF’s Claudia Major and ECFR’s Jana Puglierin in Internationale Politik Quarterly.

They argue that Germany is uniquely positioned to lead the continent —if it does so in a participatory and inclusive way.
Germany Is the Key to a European Survival Strategy
Europe is ill-prepared for the new age of great power politics. Berlin needs to lead in a participatory and inclusive way.
ip-quarterly.com

Reposted by Ben Tonra

iikkakorhonen.bsky.social
Iikka Korhonen @iikkakorhonen.bsky.social · 4d
Even before the deal, the number of employment permits Russia issued for Indians jumped to more than 56,000 last year from roughly 5,000 in 2021. The total number of work permits given to foreigners rose to more than 240,000 in 2025, the highest since at least 2017

www.bloomberg.com/news/article...
Russia Turns to India, Sri Lanka for Way Out of Its Labor Crisis
For years, Russia relied on migrants from Central Asia to fill gaps in its workforce. As demographics and the war in Ukraine drive the sharpest labor crisis in decades, recruiters are casting a wider ...
www.bloomberg.com

bentonra.bsky.social
Ben Tonra @bentonra.bsky.social · 5d
“Today representatives from Coimisiún na Meán met with an OECD - OCDE delegation visiting Dublin. We also held a bilateral meeting with Sarah Rogers, United States Under Secretary of State for Public Diplomacy and Public Affairs at the State Department, who was part of the OECD delegation.”

bentonra.bsky.social
Ben Tonra @bentonra.bsky.social · 5d
Dunno… likely lobbying against regulation of social media companies

bentonra.bsky.social
Ben Tonra @bentonra.bsky.social · 5d
And she’s heading to Dublin
phillipspobrien.bsky.social Phillips OBrien @phillipspobrien.bsky.social · 5d
This story should be retitled. The US is actually funding pro-Putin think tanks, ones that want to end European democracy.

Lets be honest about this.
financialtimes.com Financial Times @financialtimes.com · 6d
US government to fund Maga-aligned think-tanks and charities in Europe ft.trib.al/rg4IDIC

bentonra.bsky.social
Ben Tonra @bentonra.bsky.social · 5d
MAGA propagandist - funelling US government money to right wing think tanks visiting Dublin. www.state.gov/releases/off...
Under Secretary Rogers’s Travel to Ireland, Hungary, Poland, and Germany - United States Department of State
Under Secretary of State for Public Diplomacy Sarah Rogers will travel to Dublin, Budapest, Warsaw, and Munich February 5-15, 2026. During her upcoming trip, Under Secretary Rogers will meet with gove...
www.state.gov

Reposted by Ben Tonra

phillipspobrien.bsky.social
Phillips OBrien @phillipspobrien.bsky.social · 5d
This story should be retitled. The US is actually funding pro-Putin think tanks, ones that want to end European democracy.

Lets be honest about this.

Reposted by Ben Tonra

united24media.com
UNITED24 Media @united24media.com · 5d
⚡ President Zelenskyy says there's a rumored $12T US–Russia pact.

He says the draft “Dmitriev package,” cited by Ukrainian intelligence, may implicate Ukraine’s sovereignty and security.

Reposted by John Foot, Ben Tonra

bookjawns.bsky.social
Book Jawns @bookjawns.bsky.social · 6d
Hillary was right about everything….

Reposted by Ben Tonra, Christian Fisch

maxberger.bsky.social
Max Berger @maxberger.bsky.social · 7d
Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk: "More and more leads, more and more information, and more and more commentary in the global press all relate to the suspicion that this unprecedented paedophilia scandal was co-organised by Russian intelligence services."

Reposted by Edgar Morgenroth, Ben Tonra, Nicolai von Ondarza

lisaocarroll.bsky.social
Lisa O’Carroll @lisaocarroll.bsky.social · 7d
Exclusive: interview with David O’Sullivan, Eu Russia sanctions envoy. He believes sanctions now having “significant impact” on Russia economy with oil revenues down, interest rates in double digits and inflation high

Reposted by Steve Peers, Ben Tonra, Nicolai von Ondarza

lisaocarroll.bsky.social
Lisa O’Carroll @lisaocarroll.bsky.social · 7d
www.theguardian.com/world/2026/f...
Sanctions having ‘significant impact’ on Russian economy, says EU special envoy
Exclusive: David O’Sullivan says war-based economy may be nearing point of becoming ‘unsustainable’
www.theguardian.com

Reposted by Ben Tonra

politico.eu
POLITICO Europe @politico.eu · 7d
A German parliamentary delegation visiting Washington late last month saw center-left MPs frozen out by the U.S. State Department, people familiar with the matter told POLITICO.
Trump administration favored Germany’s far right in Washington visit
A planned meeting collapsed after State Department officials told the German embassy it refused to meet with center-left German lawmakers.
www.politico.eu

bentonra.bsky.social
Ben Tonra @bentonra.bsky.social · 7d
www.iaces.ie/events/still...
Still on the slow train to nowhere? EU Enlargement between technocratic incrementalism and geopolitical turbulence | IACES.ie
IACES Annual Lecture 2026 - Professor John O’Brennan, Maynooth University
www.iaces.ie