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Ken McDonagh

@kenmcdonagh

Associate Prof in IR, DCU, research EU security & defence, occasional runner, dad of triplets, mo thuairim fèin

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Latest posts by Ken McDonagh @kenmcdonagh

a. piece. of. software. is. not. the. type. of. entity. that. can. gain. consciousness.

06.03.2026 15:44 👍 162 🔁 47 💬 9 📌 1

It appears the RSA doesn't track the number of people killed by SUVs which to paraphrase the article " are designed for off-road use, and when used inappropriately on public roads they pose a danger to vulnerable road users." - but banning those would impact a very different demographic...

06.03.2026 14:46 👍 1 🔁 0 💬 0 📌 0
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This is a real video from the official White House account on a war that is currently killing people. I don’t know how the US is going to come back from this.
The post was “JUSTICE THE AMERICAN WAY. 🇺🇸 🔥”

06.03.2026 08:22 👍 3175 🔁 1106 💬 670 📌 1192
Preview
Sabine Volk wins the 2025 Rising Star Award European Consortium for Political Research

⭐ Exemplary, Profound, Innovative ⭐

🎉Congratulations to @sabinedvolk.bsky.social on winning the 2025 Rising Star Award, praised by the jury for her exceptional academic achievements in #PolSci

👏 Read more buff.ly/JuN5qVr

#ECPRPrizes @ameliahadfield1.bsky.social

06.03.2026 11:52 👍 26 🔁 8 💬 4 📌 1

When I wrote a piece about my son's love of reading in January, I included this bit because I refuse to hear lectures about literacy rates from the selfsame ghouls and vandals who've cheered on as the UK's apparatus for childhood reading has been stripped to the wiring and sold off for scrap.

06.03.2026 11:45 👍 169 🔁 48 💬 2 📌 0
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Strategic lunacy: Why Europeans must stand up to Trump’s illegal war in Iran – European Council on Foreign Relations Too many Europeans are quietly aligning with America and Israel’s war against Iran. Instead, they urgently need to pursue difficult diplomacy to halt a spiralli

It would be strategic lunacy for Europe to support the US/Israeli war on Iran. It is an illegal war that comes with huge costs: regional spillover, higher energy costs, helping Putin in Ukraine. It risks drawing Europe into a new regime change quagmire
ecfr.eu/article/stra...

06.03.2026 10:01 👍 43 🔁 19 💬 1 📌 7
05.03.2026 14:28 👍 11 🔁 1 💬 0 📌 0

An excellent article on AI and history, but applicable to the broader humanities and social sciences as well...

05.03.2026 08:18 👍 1 🔁 1 💬 0 📌 0

They killed 180 children and their teachers in a double-tap strike on a school. The girls were 7 to 12 years old.

05.03.2026 04:33 👍 4373 🔁 1805 💬 101 📌 30

Bernard Woolley: Minister if the boots are on the ground then they can't be on the table... well I suppose you could have one on the table and one on the ground but that's be awkward, but soldiers are rather fit aren't they? They could manage the... stretch...

*Humphrey and Hacker staring at him*

04.03.2026 19:30 👍 22 🔁 6 💬 1 📌 0
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Slí na Sláinte routes, cycle to work scheme for staff, joining one of our 130 student clubs and societies... There are many ways for staff and students to increase their level of activity at DCU.
For tips on how you can get more active on campus, visit: dcu.ie/dcusport/active

04.03.2026 19:00 👍 1 🔁 1 💬 0 📌 0
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Macron Wants to Put Europe Under France’s Nuclear Umbrella The changes to France’s nuclear posture that Macron announced this week could reshape nuclear deterrence in Europe for years to come.

My latest column for @wpr.bsky.social in which I argue that Macron’s nuclear speech really was groundbreaking and should get more attention

(and please: I did not chose the title! All mistakes in the text are mine, but the title is not.)

04.03.2026 18:37 👍 142 🔁 42 💬 4 📌 4

The EU has the tools to stand up to the US (read anti-coercion instrument) and I read @olofgill.bsky.social's statements to mean it is ready to use them if Trump really blocks all trade with Spain because Sánchez dares criticize him. The EU has to stand together.

04.03.2026 11:02 👍 45 🔁 15 💬 1 📌 0

People can debate AI all they like, but surely we can all agree that anyone who owns or uses a pair of the pervert glasses that secretly record people should be ostracised immediately and totally from our society? I'm sorry but your pervert glasses prove you're a pervert! Get out of town!

04.03.2026 10:41 👍 317 🔁 76 💬 7 📌 2
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The baseless innuendo of “family voting” The extraordinary decision by Democracy Volunteers to shroudwave about “family voting” for the Gorton and Denton by-election has damaged both trust in the political system and harmed ra…

Next time anyone you speak to says, 'yeah but family voting', make sure you've read this and have it up your sleeve.

@jamesgraham.theliberati.net 👏

www.theliberati.net/quaequamblog...

04.03.2026 10:13 👍 109 🔁 49 💬 13 📌 0

I quite like the look of a floating Eiffel tower replica out by the Kish light though!

04.03.2026 10:23 👍 5 🔁 0 💬 2 📌 0
02.03.2026 15:33 👍 4 🔁 0 💬 0 📌 0
Job Specification

📢Lectureship in Politics and Public Administration
Shared with @livunipol.bsky.social
3-year fixed-term
£47,389 - £59,966 pa
Help teach + develop the new MA in Public Administration and Policy, teach UG + PG students + carry out high-quality research
ℹ️ tinyurl.com/3fcyrn24
#academicsky

28.01.2026 10:37 👍 1 🔁 7 💬 0 📌 0
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I am pleased to contribute to the search for an Associate Professor in the IR of the Global South at the University of Oxford @ox.ac.uk @politicsoxford.bsky.social.

We seek outstanding scholars, maintaining broad openness on regional focus & method.

Details: rb.gy/iosyrq
Closes: 7 April 2026.

02.03.2026 09:58 👍 1 🔁 1 💬 0 📌 0

So, the GAC meeting today in Cyprus - which was to include representatives from accross the EU, candidate countries and the UK - has been postponed due to the security situation.

Small nuissance in the grand scheme of things, but shows how direct EU territory is now affected by the war.

02.03.2026 09:24 👍 46 🔁 23 💬 2 📌 0
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As we (rightly) focus on the threat of U.S. government funding far-right parties and "think tanks", this excellent @veghzsuzsanna.bsky.social report is an important reminder of the crucial role that the Orbán government already plays in developing and financing a far-right infrastructure in Europe.

26.02.2026 13:46 👍 71 🔁 31 💬 2 📌 1

Congratulations to The Green Party and Hannah Spencer for such a strong victory in Gorton and Denton - Matt Goodwin seems to be blaming a dirty tricks campaign of the Greens persuading people to vote for them by having policies people wanted to vote for

27.02.2026 08:56 👍 1807 🔁 256 💬 59 📌 6
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Europe v America: Who’s Really Winning? A wonkish but important discussion

About growth in Europe and the US; it’s not the story you’ve heard open.substack.com/pub/paulkrug...

26.02.2026 01:26 👍 474 🔁 96 💬 26 📌 32

Fog in Channel. Europe cut off.

26.02.2026 08:34 👍 58 🔁 20 💬 6 📌 0

De facto criminalizing and dehumanizing entire groups has always been a crucial ingredient of pogroms and genocides.

While it is impossible to pinpoint any single case of rights being eroded like as THE cause of mass murders, each case weakens the safeties and lowers the threshold of atrocities.

26.02.2026 08:31 👍 11 🔁 5 💬 0 📌 0
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Exclusive: US orders diplomats to fight data sovereignty initiatives President Donald Trump's administration has ordered U.S. diplomats to lobby against attempts to regulate U.S. tech companies' handling of foreigners' data, saying in an internal diplomatic cable seen ...

It's U.S. foreign policy that the whole world must serve up our data to the AI giants that are now an arm of the U.S. government.
www.reuters.com/sustainabili...

25.02.2026 18:19 👍 292 🔁 151 💬 14 📌 17
Diarmuid Tourney | Green Careers
Diarmuid Tourney | Green Careers Meet Diarmuid Tourney, Director of the Institute for Climate and Society at Dublin City University and DCU lead for the Co-Centre for Climate + Biodiversity + Water. Diarmuid talks about his…

🌱 Green Careers Series | Ep 8

Meet Diarmuid Torney, Director of DCU Institute for Climate & Society and DCU lead for the Co-Centre for Climate + Biodiversity + Water.

From politics & economics to fair transitions, he explains why inclusive decision-making matters.

Watch here: buff.ly/IVO4hkP

25.02.2026 10:00 👍 5 🔁 5 💬 0 📌 0
Headline - students deserve more than a hollowed out student experience

Headline - students deserve more than a hollowed out student experience

My response to the Minister - and his suggestion that universities compress lectures into fewer days so students commute less. No way he’d agree for affordable and available student housing so students could have the full third level experience! #spéirgorm

25.02.2026 09:53 👍 74 🔁 23 💬 2 📌 3
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Are AI-generated summaries suitable for studying and research? Despite didactic, ethical, and environmental concerns, the use of GenAI is on the rise in academia. For most applications, the jury is still out on whether and how they will benefit education and rese...

Tired of AI hype posts? You might like my sober assessment of whether AI-generated summaries are suitable for studying and research. Spoiler alert, they are not.

The text is primarily aimed at students and researchers, but has much broader relevance. So share freely!: www.tue.nl/en/our-unive...

24.02.2026 18:47 👍 292 🔁 141 💬 11 📌 15
ISA-SAWP Colombo 2026: Call for Proposals

Happy to announce the 1st ever @isanet.bsky.social conference in South Asia in August 2026. Hosted in Colombo, Sri Lanka, we welcome proposals from scholars based in and/or studying South Asian politics & international relations, but also broader global themes ofc www.isanet.org/Conferences/...

21.01.2026 07:59 👍 54 🔁 52 💬 13 📌 3