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).

Should the United States Save Syria?

Posted on January 31, 2013 by Dr Gerard Toal

Yesterday afternoon I attended a debate organized around this question. The event was the first organized by a new ‘decision tank’ in Washington DC, the McCain Institute. Named after Senator John McCain, organized in collaboration with Arizona State University, and … Continue reading →

Posted in Current affairs, John McCain, Syria, US Senate, Washington D.C. | Tagged | 1 Comment

Bend it like ‘Bama

Posted on January 23, 2013 by Dr Gerard Toal

So what have one million people done to my football pitch? Has majestic battle hymn democracy destroyed the ground friends and I play soccer upon every Sunday? Well I suppose an alliterative public extension of the bonds of inclusion in … Continue reading →

Posted in Current affairs, Democracy, Obama, Washington D.C. | Leave a comment

Power and Political Geography

Posted on December 13, 2012 by Dr Gerard Toal

Very useful 11 minute segment last night on the Rachel Maddow Show on the question of the alleged gerrymandering of Congressional Districts in Michigan, Wisconsin, Ohio and Virginia. Useful teaching resource and illustration of the power of political geography. It … Continue reading →

Posted in Current affairs, Political Borders | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

“We have to fix that”

Posted on December 6, 2012 by Dr Gerard Toal

Among the many pleasures on election night last month was seeing the fire in Obama’s eye as he went off script — “by the way, we have to fix that” — during a wonderful election night speech. He was referring … Continue reading →

Posted in Congress, Constitution, Current affairs, Democracy, Obama, US Senate, Washington D.C. | Leave a comment

Slow Knowledge

Posted on December 6, 2012 by Dr Gerard Toal

It is good to know that, in this globally connected world of ever increasing turnover speeds and response times that there is something still stuck in the groove of the nineteenth century: academic publishing timelines! The following are some articles … Continue reading →

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Does global warming auger increased levels of violent conflict?

Posted on October 25, 2012 by Dr Gerard Toal

There has been a lot of speculation on the likely impacts of global warming on violent conflict across the globe. In a new study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS), my former adviser and research … Continue reading →

Posted in Africa, Climate Change, Current affairs, Geography, Global Warming, World political map | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

The Third Debate: Politics is the Enemy of Strategy

Posted on October 23, 2012 by Dr Gerard Toal

The third debate introduced US citizens, and an international audience to a geographic variant of a staple political attack. And, you know, Governor Romney, I’m glad that you agree that we have been successful in going after Al Qaida, but … Continue reading →

Posted in Current affairs, Geography, Iran, Israel, Obama, Rhetoric, Romney, the bomb, World political map | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

“Just give me the ball”

Posted on October 18, 2012 by Dr Gerard Toal

In his article entitled “Battle Plans: How Obama Won,” the New Yorker writer Ryan Lizza records the following exchange between Obama and a staffer over Obama’s strong performance in his first debate with John McCain: After Obama’s first debate with … Continue reading →

Posted in Gender, Masculinity, Obama, Romney, Washington D.C. | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

Diary: Lectures in Ireland and Istanbul

Posted on October 9, 2012 by Dr Gerard Toal

John O’Loughlin and I gave a lecture “Inside Eurasia’s De Facto States” at Dublin City University to students and faculty on the 28th of September 2012. Many thanks to Donnacha O’Beachain for organizing this well attended event. It was the … Continue reading →

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One of Our Own

Posted on August 16, 2012 by Dr Gerard Toal

Last week our School, the School of Public and International Affairs at Virginia Tech, lost one of our Ph D students in Afghanistan. Born in Egypt, Ragaei Abdelfattah was a naturalized American, devout Muslim and former master planner for Prince … Continue reading →

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