Author Archives: Dr Gerard Toal
The Crimea Conundrum
As part of a special issue on Ukraine 5 years after Maidan, the journal Eurasian Geography and Economics has published an article John O’Loughlin and I wrote on the conflict over Crimea (available free access for a limited time). The article … Continue reading
Borderization: A Critical Geopolitics
Gela Merabishvili and I wrote an article on the geopolitical enterpreneurship within Georgian surrounding ‘borderization,’ the construction of a physical barrier to free movement by a de facto state to assert its claim to create an ‘international’ border. The article … Continue reading
The August 2008 War Ten Years Later
History is full of short wars that are quickly forgotten. The five-day war between Georgia and Russia war a decade ago this week felt significant at the time but faded from the headlines quickly as a severe financial crisis unfolded. … Continue reading
CORRECTIONS: Near Abroad
The following is a working correction list for Near Abroad: Putin, the West, and the Contest over Ukraine and the Caucasus. Oxford University Press have this list and the next print run of the book will incorporate these corrections (some … Continue reading
Near Abroad Book Launch in Washington DC
Click here for a video of the Near Abroad Book Discussion with Gerard Toal, 7 March 2017
Near Abroad
Before Russia invaded Ukraine, it invaded Georgia. Both states are part of Russia’s “near abroad”—former Soviet republics that are now independent states neighboring Russia. While the Russia-Georgia war of 2008 faded from the headlines, the geopolitical contest that created it … Continue reading
Srebrenica After Twenty Years
Twenty years ago I was in northern Italy, enjoying that wonderful country and the hospitality of a good family. On the TV news, we saw pictures from the fall of Srebrenica. I remember being struck by the phrase ‘Musulmani’ during the broadcasts … Continue reading
