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Gerard Toal

@critgeopolitics.bsky.social
4.7K followers 901 following 910 posts

Political Geographer from 🇮🇪 Slow knowledge producer

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Gerard Toal @critgeopolitics.bsky.social · 28/09/2026
My Critical Geopolitics seminar tonight is revisiting this 2020 book by @cooleyoneurasia.bsky.social & @dhnexon.net. Both its theory & its Trump analysis still resonate. But we're much further along the unravelling road they describe. I understand there's a second edition in the works.
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Gerard Toal @critgeopolitics.bsky.social · 28/09/2026
“awarded 80 concessions that cover land roughly the size of Northern Ireland to Chinese miners” “Strategic foothold… gold” www.ft.com/content/4526...
ft.com
Gold-rich Nicaragua hands Chinese miners rights to a tenth of its land
Dozens of mining concessions deepen Beijing’s strategic foothold as it tussles with US for influence in Central America
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Alex Dukalskis @alexdukalskis.bsky.social · 28/09/2026
My department - @ucdpolitics.bsky.social - is hiring two PERMANENT posts in any area of politics, international relations, theory, or development studies. Please apply if you are on the academic job market, and if you're not, please do us a solid & spread the word! Deadline NOV 9.
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Gerard Toal @critgeopolitics.bsky.social · 28/09/2026
The International Criminal Court would indeed be a worthy Nobel Peace Prize winner. www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
theguardian.com
Forget the famous names. Here is who actually deserves this year’s Nobel peace prize | Haakon Gjerløw
The betting markets favour the US president and Volodymyr Zelenskyy. But the most vital work to secure peace is being done by those far from the spotlight, says Haakon Gjerløw, acting director of the ...
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Gerard Toal @critgeopolitics.bsky.social · 27/09/2026
Two debacles playing out in Ireland presently, one on Gervaghy Road, one over the Ireland-Israel football match. Conflict entrepreneurship par excellence.
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Gerard Toal @critgeopolitics.bsky.social · 27/09/2026
Masterful thread on the politics of conflict narratives in the Armenia-Azerbaijan reconciliation process.
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Gerard Toal @critgeopolitics.bsky.social · 26/09/2026
Ukraine moves further toward the "everywhere war." "Where the war was once split between contested battle lines at the front and the weary but mostly safe cities farther back, drone innovations are now blurring the distinction. It is becoming harder to know where the battle area starts and stops."
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Gerard Toal @critgeopolitics.bsky.social · 25/09/2026
A decent appraisal of the ethics & politics of U2. We begrudge their success too much. U2's Irishness has gifted them moral clarity on many issues. If Ed Sheeran were Irish he wouldn't be as lost as he is.
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Laurence Broers @laurencebroers.bsky.social · 21/09/2026
Crushed by the loss of Richard Giragosian, an anchor of the policy-facing space in Armenia and tireless advocate of normalization with the country’s neighbours, who died unexpectedly in Istanbul on Saturday. Rest in peace, my friend.
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Gerard Toal @critgeopolitics.bsky.social · 21/09/2026
With all the chatter about Endtimes, let us praise our prophet in Critical Geopolitics Tristan Sturm👇🏼
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Gerard Toal @critgeopolitics.bsky.social · 21/09/2026
“That’s a nice lawn you got there. Be a shame if somebody started triumphal arching there...”
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Gerard Toal @critgeopolitics.bsky.social · 19/09/2026
Best geopolitical satire around. youtube.com/shorts/mmACM...
youtube.com
Putin warns Trump about Canada
YouTube video by GZERO Media
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Gerard Toal @critgeopolitics.bsky.social · 18/09/2026
I do think Trump’s cartographic histrionics help account for the fact that this issue, known for ages yet left unaddressed, was suddenly acted upon. Thanks Dear Leader. 🙏 www.theguardian.com/science/ng-i...
theguardian.com
‘A map is never neutral’: meet the cartographers who took on centuries of western bias
Equal Earth projection, adopted by the UN last week, provides an alternative to 16th-century Mercator display
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Gerard Toal @critgeopolitics.bsky.social · 18/09/2026
Full house at Politics & Prose tonight for @naomiaklein.bsky.social @astra.bsky.social Endtimes Fascism book talk. The audio book is really excellent.
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Gerard Toal @critgeopolitics.bsky.social · 17/09/2026
Classic geopolitical field dynamics here: empire looking to strengthen control of its neighborhood provokes defection by neighbors to alternative power center. www.nytimes.com/2026/09/16/u...
nytimes.com
Trump Wanted Canada as the 51st State. He Ended Up Pushing It Toward the European Union.
The invitation by the E.U. for Canada to become an “associate member” is a sign of Mr. Trump’s brand of diplomacy, which often involves threatening America’s closest friends.
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Gerard Toal @critgeopolitics.bsky.social · 17/09/2026
The next BRIT (Border Regions in Transition) conference is in Sarajevo early May 2027. The call for papers has just been announced. I'm all in! brit18.pmf.unsa.ba
brit18.pmf.unsa.ba
Home - GEOGRAFIJA KONFERENCIJA BRIT
18th Border Regions in Transition - BRIT XVIII BRIT XVIII brings together scholars, practitioners and civil society actors from around the world to examine how
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Gerard Toal @critgeopolitics.bsky.social · 17/09/2026
I think transatlantic jet lag had much to do with this off-the-cuff remark from the charming & talented Mr Trump.
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Gerard Toal @critgeopolitics.bsky.social · 14/09/2026
Excellent new review of political geography research on war here by Craig Jones (open access): journals-sagepub-com/doi/full/10....
nam04.safelinks.protection.outlook.com
Geographies of war and violence II: Terraformations and political ecologies of war - Craig Jones, 2026
This report reviews recently published work on political ecologies of war to argue that war is a terraforming project. Terraformations of war require thinking t...
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Gerard Toal @critgeopolitics.bsky.social · 12/09/2026
Maybe I should not be surprised but it is shocking to me that Luke Harding’s book Betrayal is not available in the United States. www.theguardian.com/books/2026/a...
theguardian.com
Betrayal by Luke Harding review – could Donald Trump be a Russian asset?
A Guardian correspondent’s sobering account of the US betrayal of Ukraine – and the possible reasons behind it
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Gerard Toal @critgeopolitics.bsky.social · 10/09/2026
The latest issue of Perspectives on Politics @poppublicsphere.bsky.social is excellent, with lots on books address climate change & geo/politics. I enjoyed reading Lisa Vanhala Governing the End & responding to her review of Oceans Rise Empires Fall. Here's my review: doi.org/10.1017/S153...
doi.org
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Gerard Toal @critgeopolitics.bsky.social · 10/09/2026
FOUR reasons why great power competition could hasten the adoption of clean energy. My response to Lisa Vanhala's review of Oceans Rise Empires Fall in the current @poppublicsphere.bsky.social issue. doi.org/10.1017/S153...
doi.org
Response to Lisa Vanhala’s Review of Oceans Rise, Empires Fall: Why Geopolitics Hastens Climate Catastrophe | Perspectives on Politics | Cambridge Core
Response to Lisa Vanhala’s Review of Oceans Rise, Empires Fall: Why Geopolitics Hastens Climate Catastrophe - Volume 24 Issue 3
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Gerard Toal @critgeopolitics.bsky.social · 08/09/2026
What a golden age for shitposting maps it is! Everywhere a funny map, an 'only joking' attitude, yet a persistent obsessive need to fantasize aggrandizement, to desperately seek immortality as a man of territorial action, an imperial god. www.nytimes.com/2026/09/08/w...
nytimes.com
Iceland Summons U.S. Ambassador Over Provocative Trump Map
After voting against talks to join the European Union, Iceland is reacting forcefully to a slight against its sovereignty.
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Gerard Toal @critgeopolitics.bsky.social · 06/09/2026
The US government voted against the “correct the map” resolution at the UN on Friday. The diminishment of Greenland is too much for an old man to accept. usun.usmission.gov/explanation-...
usun.usmission.gov
Explanation of Vote Before the Vote for UNGA 80 Adoption on the Resolution to “Correct the Map”
This resolution mocks the work and purpose of this institution. While this initiative is presented as an anodyne effort to update cartographic proportions, the United States clearly sees it cannot be ...
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Gerard Toal @critgeopolitics.bsky.social · 06/09/2026
This finding from our research this summer shows how poorly Ukrainians think of Witkoff and Kuchner. They are now in Kyiv for the first time.
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Gerard Toal @critgeopolitics.bsky.social · 04/09/2026
The 'real' world political map was a biased representation all along? 😱 www.theguardian.com/world/2026/s... UN to vote on adopting new world map that shows Africa’s true scale
theguardian.com
UN to vote on adopting new world map that shows Africa’s true scale
Togo-sponsored resolution calls to phase out traditional map that depicts continent as similar size to Greenland
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Gerard Toal @critgeopolitics.bsky.social · 04/09/2026
Amidst the intensified bombing & 'hybrid' war, its a positive sign to see an article like this: www.nytimes.com/2026/09/04/w...
nytimes.com
After Fighting Russia Fiercely, He Wants to Forge Ukraine’s Path to Peace
Kyrylo Budanov, a decorated soldier and former military spy chief, advocates a negotiated settlement. Talks are expected to resume this month.
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Gerard Toal @critgeopolitics.bsky.social · 03/09/2026
The US-Canada dispute has an excess of absurdities. I used one - framing wildfire smoke as an 'invasion' - to write about a broader issue: climate disruption & nationalism. canadiandimension.com/articles/vie...
canadiandimension.com
Climate disruption and the nationalist turn
Nationalism becomes dangerous when it turns a shared planetary crisis into a competition between insiders and outsiders. A wiser earth-based nationalism offers something different: the possibility of ...
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Gerard Toal @critgeopolitics.bsky.social · 03/08/2026
Tom Graham is always worth reading on US-Russia-Ukraine relations. "Given Mr. Witkoff and Mr. Kushner’s other responsibilities, Mr. Trump should bolster their efforts with additional experts to spur negotiations." www.nytimes.com/2026/08/03/o...
nytimes.com
Opinion | Trump’s Chance for Peace in Ukraine Is Real. But It Won’t Last.
There’s a narrow chance for a Russia-Ukraine peace deal before things go south.
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Gerard Toal @critgeopolitics.bsky.social · 02/08/2026
The Reflecting Pool is no longer mirroring American greatness. It’s dry & empty today. It’s another troublesome waterway, a proximate reminder that the earth always exposes hubris & folly.
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Gerard Toal @critgeopolitics.bsky.social · 30/07/2026
In 2000 former US National Security Adviser Anthony Lake published this book, featuring a dirty bomb scenario in downtown Washington DC. With the US wantonly bombing a country of 93 million people & enabling genocide, this scenario is surprisingly absent from our hyperpolitical discourse. Why?
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Gerard Toal @critgeopolitics.bsky.social · 30/07/2026
The US could have had a geography teacher as vice-president. Instead it went with the proud clueless crew. www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026... US government map of Africa mislabels every country at global conference
theguardian.com
US government map of Africa mislabels every country at global conference
State department ‘takes full responsibility’ for erroneous, widely shared chart displayed at Aids conference in Brazil
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Gerard Toal @critgeopolitics.bsky.social · 29/07/2026
Large parts of Dulles desperately need an overhaul. While we're at it why not rename it after.... ...someone who isn't an imperialist overthrowing regimes in Iran. www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026... Trump announces $22bn plan to rebuild Dulles international airport
theguardian.com
Trump announces $22bn plan to rebuild Dulles international airport
Planned overhaul forms part of president’s broader pattern of directing changes in Washington after arch and ballroom
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Gerard Toal @critgeopolitics.bsky.social · 29/07/2026
What a shameful spectacle of bullying & grandstanding conspiracism against a public servant. www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026... Anthony Fauci’s high-profile Senate hearing: what we learned
theguardian.com
Anthony Fauci’s high-profile Senate hearing: what we learned
Six years on from Covid crisis, Republicans still politicizing science – and Fauci remains a political punching bag
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Gerard Toal @critgeopolitics.bsky.social · 28/07/2026
The lexicon of geopolitics has a new meme: “Trump consciously rejects the concepts of consultation and reassurance. He made no effort to consult U.S. allies and instead Leeroy-Jenkinsed his way into a failure in Iran.”
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Gerard Toal @critgeopolitics.bsky.social · 28/07/2026
I feel confident in saying that Zelensky did not discuss our polling data with Trump this morning. theconversation.com/we-asked-ukr...
theconversation.com
We asked Ukrainians what they think of Trump – more view him as an enemy than a friend
Despite holding a low opinion of the US president and his negotiators, most Ukrainians have favorable views toward Americans more generally.
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Gerard Toal @critgeopolitics.bsky.social · 28/07/2026
In a few hours at the National Cathedral on Wisconsin Avenue here in DC, an indicted leader accused of genocide and a celebrated leader defending against genocide will mourn the death of the same man, who backed them both.
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Gerard Toal @critgeopolitics.bsky.social · 28/07/2026
The new geography of continents.
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Reposted by Gerard Toal
Sarah Whitmore @drsarahwhitmore.bsky.social · 23/07/2026
I draw on my recently published research with Bettina Renz to argue that conflict between the defence minister and commander-in-chief is structural and is unlikely to be resolved by personnel changes theconversation.com/ukraine-war-... #Ukraine #Fedorov #Syrskyi @theconversation.com
theconversation.com
Ukraine war: inside the longstanding conflict between politicians and military commanders
Ukraine’s president, Volodymyr Zelensky, has just dismissed both his defence minister and commander-in-chief.
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Gerard Toal @critgeopolitics.bsky.social · 21/07/2026
Why aren't 18 year olds mobilized to fight in Ukraine? Because society largely agrees on protecting "the demographic future of the nation." Graph by @sarahwilsonsokhey.bsky.social from our recent KIIS CATI survey of 1801 Ukrainians.
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Gerard Toal @critgeopolitics.bsky.social · 21/07/2026
“when the crowd jeers, he listens.” Being a populist beyond your term in wartime is difficult & greatly empowers organized urban protesters. www.nytimes.com/2026/07/21/w...
nytimes.com
When Protesters Speak, Zelensky Listens, in the Ukrainian Tradition
With anger high over the firing of the defense minister, the president’s office is signaling an openness to compromise.
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Gerard Toal @critgeopolitics.bsky.social · 20/07/2026
RIP Kevin Keegan. Thanks for all the memories And fight scenes with Leeds. youtu.be/Wuv1XjXmBtY?...
youtu.be
Scottish Commentary on the 1974 Charity Shield - Liverpool v Leeds Keegan Giles Bremner McKallaster
YouTube video by McKallaster
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Gerard Toal @critgeopolitics.bsky.social · 20/07/2026
It is remarkable, amidst a grinding war, that Ukrainian protests are holding their government accountable & forcing personnel changes. Our new @us.theconversation.com piece: theconversation.com/amid-grindin...
theconversation.com
Amid grinding war, protesting Ukrainians still want their voices and values heard at home
Firing of defense minister sparked demonstrations, but polling suggests a deeper desire to safeguard freedoms and fight corruption.
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Gerard Toal @critgeopolitics.bsky.social · 20/07/2026
New piece coming in The Conversation tomorrow. And there’s more data from Ukraine we’d be happy to publish in a good public interest outlet. Get in touch if you know one that fits.
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Gerard Toal @critgeopolitics.bsky.social · 19/07/2026
Yeah that’s what we need. More firework particulate in the air.
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Gerard Toal @critgeopolitics.bsky.social · 19/07/2026
Today’s final is *checks internet* really Israel v Palestine? Good article on football as a vehicle for vicarious nationalism & war. 👇🏼👇🏼
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Gerard Toal @critgeopolitics.bsky.social · 19/07/2026
Well that was entertaining!
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Gerard Toal @critgeopolitics.bsky.social · 17/07/2026
At a moment when the US is bombing civilian infrastructures across Iran, it is poignant to recall Yves Lacoste's exposure of the US's bombing of Vietnam's waterways in 1972. "far from any military objective" www.nytimes.com/2026/06/26/w...
nytimes.com
Yves Lacoste, Who Exposed U.S. Bombing of Vietnam’s Waterways, Dies at 96
He used a geographer’s tools to demonstrate that North Vietnamese civilian infrastructure had been deliberately attacked, threatening millions of lives.
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Gerard Toal @critgeopolitics.bsky.social · 17/07/2026
Because politicians represent fixed territories & vested fossil fuel interests while our world is planetary. States are built thinking of security as territorial not geo-ecological.
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Gerard Toal @critgeopolitics.bsky.social · 16/07/2026
Gaza is an instance of what geographers term place annihilation, also conceptualized as as urbicide and domicide @julianborger.bsky.social has seen this in Sarajevo & Mostar (paradigmatic 'urbicide' case) when he reported from Bosnia's war. Today.... 1/ www.theguardian.com/world/2026/j...
theguardian.com
Trump’s Board of Peace drops full Gaza recovery plan in favour of tiny pilot scheme
Revised plan aims to ‘keep something going’ amid fears Netanyahu may gamble on new all-out offensive before Israeli elections
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Gerard Toal @critgeopolitics.bsky.social · 15/07/2026
If Thatcher hadn’t gone all jingoistic about the Falklands in 1982, then Argentina wouldn’t have had a deep well of motivation… “Malvinas-Diego-Messi” Imperial boomerangs are a bitch. 🤣
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