Author Archives: Dr Gerard Toal

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About Dr Gerard Toal

Irish born academic living in Washington DC researching geopolitical competition and territorial conflicts in post-Communist Europe. Author of CRITICAL GEOPOLITICS (1996), BOSNIA REMADE (w C Dahlman) and NEAR ABROAD: PUTIN, THE WEST AND THE CONTEST OVER UKRAINE AND THE CAUCASUS (Oxford University Press, 2017).

Inconvenient Truths about the Syria Crisis

Posted on September 6, 2013 by Dr Gerard Toal

The time for more detached scholarly research on the interstate conflict over responding to the Syrian civil war, and war crimes therein, will come later. Clearly the 21 August chemical weapon attacks intensified this conflict greatly. The affective geopolitical complex … Continue reading →

Posted in Congress, Current affairs, George Bush, Israel, Middle East, Obama, Political Borders, Political Geography, Presidency, Russia, Syria, US Senate, war crimes, Washington D.C., World political map | 1 Comment

The Saddest Place: Beslan Plus 9

Posted on September 4, 2013 by Dr Gerard Toal

Nine years ago the siege of School Number 1 in Beslan, North Ossetia ended in disastrous circumstances with 336 people killed, almost two hundred of them children. The mundane ramshackle ruins of the gutted school buildings are deeply affecting reminders … Continue reading →

Posted in Beslan, chemical weapons, Obama, Putin, Syria | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment

Chemical Warfare and Place: Lessons from Halabja

Posted on September 3, 2013 by Dr Gerard Toal

As the United States and France consider military strikes in retaliation against the Assad regime it is worth recalling the use of chemical weapons by Saddam Hussein’s regime in Halabja, north east Iraqi Kurdistan on 16 March 1988. It is … Continue reading →

Posted in Beslan, Critical Geopolitics, Current affairs, genocide, Halabja, Iraq, Kurdistan, Political Geography, Syria, war crimes, World political map | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

“The Map is not the Territory”: Parallel Paths: Palestinians, Native Americans, Irish

Posted on August 30, 2013 by Dr Gerard Toal

Friday September 6 from 6 to 8 pm is the gala opening at the Jerusalem Fund Gallery Al-Quds (2425 Virginia Avenue, NW, Washington DC) of an exhibition of 64 original paintings, photographs, prints, drawings, artist books and films by 39 … Continue reading →

Posted in Art, Cartography, Current affairs, forced displacement, Native American, Palestine, Washington D.C., World political map | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

Power and Policy in the United States. Fall 2013 Course Syllabus

Posted on August 28, 2013 by Dr Gerard Toal

Financial Times Graphic, Iraq War 2003-2013. This semester I am teaching a foundational Masters level course for our Masters of Public and International Affairs degree in the National Capital Region, Power and Policy in the United States. The course is a new … Continue reading →

Posted in Congress, Constitution, Current affairs, Democracy, Dirty Wars, drones, George Bush, Israel, Jeremy Scahill, Obama, political system, special interests, state theory, Washington D.C. | 3 Comments

Airstrikes and Affect over chemical weapons use in Syria

Posted on August 26, 2013 by Dr Gerard Toal

It looks like the US and some allied countries, possibly France and the UK, are making preparations for limited military strikes against the infrastructure of the regime of Assad in Syria. No doubt this action will spark outrage among some, … Continue reading →

Posted in Affect, Bosnia, Current affairs, genocide, Syria | Tagged , | 3 Comments

The Rhetorical Trap in US Foreign Policy

Posted on August 16, 2013 by Dr Gerard Toal

The horrific events in Egypt these past days, and past month, have placed a persistent dilemma in US foreign policy to the fore once again. What does the US do when its ‘national interest’ or ‘strategic imperatives’ and ‘military logic’ … Continue reading →

Posted in Current affairs | 1 Comment

Just a River Runs Throught It? Transnistria, Moldova and Geopolitical Faultlines

Posted on July 30, 2013 by Dr Gerard Toal

Superman Lenin outside the Transnistrian Supreme Soviet Parliament Building De Facto states are commonly viewed as pawns in a game of Great Power geopolitics. They often exist as a consequence of Great Power intervention and crucial support at consequential moments … Continue reading →

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‘Cartographic Exhibitionism’ article on Armenia & Karabakh published

Posted on June 12, 2013 by Dr Gerard Toal

The journal Problems of Post-Communism (POPC) has just published an article I wrote with Laurence Broers entitled ‘Cartographic Exhibitionism? Visualizing the Territory of Armenia and Karabakh‘ (vol. 60, no. 3, May–June 2013, pp. 16–35). Laurence’s part time day job is … Continue reading →

Posted in Cartography, Critical Geopolitics, De Facto States, forced displacement, Geography, Nagorno-Karabakh, Nagorno-Karabakh Republic, Nagorny Karabakh, World political map | Tagged , , , | 2 Comments

One Million Bones on the National Mall

Posted on June 10, 2013 by Dr Gerard Toal

This is what our football pitch on the Mall looked like on Sunday. Taking over the space was a public art installation called One Million Bones. Read about it here. The non-governmental organization behind it is called ‘The Art of … Continue reading →

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