Scholar
LightNews

Gerard Toal

Videos

Gerard Toal is Professor of Government and International Affairs at Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University.

Source: Wikipedia
H-index: 21
Political science 68%
Sociology 14%
more

by Gerard Toal

critgeopolitics.bsky.social
Yeah, no. I invite you to read a bit about the ethnonationalist entrepreneurs who became perpetrators of genocide.

Don't fall for the 'NATO did it' card.

www.semanticscholar.org/paper/%E2%80...
‘Serbs, You Are Allowed to be Serbs!’ Radovan Karadžić and the 1990 Election Campaign in Bosnia-Herzegovina | Semantic Scholar
Abstract In July 1990 the Serb Democratic Party (SDS) was founded in Bosnia-Herzegovina. Within six months the party would become the dominant political party among the Serb population of Bosnia-Herze...
www.semanticscholar.org
1

by Gerard Toal

critgeopolitics.bsky.social
Excellent essay by Amaël Cattaruzza.

Géopocène. Repenser la géopolitique à l’heure de l’anthropocène supplements.aoc.media/fig/2025/09/...
Géopocène. Repenser la géopolitique à l’heure de l’anthropocène – AOC supplément – Festival international 
de géographie
supplements.aoc.media

by Gerard Toal

critgeopolitics.bsky.social
Here's a hint:

www.ponarseurasia.org/wp-content/u...
www.ponarseurasia.org

by Gerard Toal

critgeopolitics.bsky.social
Political deplorables never die, they just go lobby for Republika Srpska.

Which, for an impoverished entity, has serious lobbying cash to spend. Where does the money come from?

www.nytimes.com/2025/10/15/u...
Trump Allies Push to Bolster Putin-Backed Balkans Leader
www.nytimes.com
2

by Gerard Toal

critgeopolitics.bsky.social
Anything of Gramsci's concept of hegemony, and times when it breaks down, will do. There's a new biography of him -- To Live is to Resist -- but I haven't got around to it yet.
1

by Gerard Toal

critgeopolitics.bsky.social
One of the more unhinged and, of course, anti-semitic conspiracy theories is about Soros-backed 'colored revolutions' in eastern Europe happening in Washington DC.

A 'thinking like the Kremlin' attitude to marches.
1 2

by Gerard Toal

critgeopolitics.bsky.social
Yes, indeed. The National Mall as the 'nation's front porch' has great symbolic and visual significance.
1

by Gerard Toal

critgeopolitics.bsky.social
Hegemony = widespread consensus about norms and rules of a society, the legitimacy of a government, elections, etc. Coercion not necessary for regular politics, though in the background.

Non-hegemony = breakdown of that consensus. Coercion increasingly visible in regular political processes.
1 1

by Gerard Toal

critgeopolitics.bsky.social
I've been attending protests in DC for 25 years.

Saturday's No Kings feels very important. Why?

1. Strong anger in city
2. GOP radicalized: talking points now unhinged conspiracism
3. Pressure & Provocation policing in cities: trawling for violence
4. Condition of non-hegemony

Disagree please
3 4 23

by Gerard Toal

critgeopolitics.bsky.social
I'm doing some research on Trump & public space in DC, specifically June 2020.

Discovered that Office of the Inspector General Reports (review of Dept of Justice actions) are no longer accessible.

Fortunately their 2024 report on Barr is available elsewhere.

Accountability, though, appears awol.
1 4

by Gerard Toal — Reposted by Markus Heße

critgeopolitics.bsky.social
Russia's war against Ukraine has brought Russia's coal industry to its knees.

Another instance of how nostalgic 'greatness' projects accelerate the death of the material foundations of past 'greatness.'

www.ft.com/content/7c62...
Russia’s coal miners buckle under sanctions, weak prices and war
Sector’s worst crisis in 30 years underscores how some industries risk lasting damage from Ukraine invasion
www.ft.com
5 5

Reposted by Gerard Toal, Juliet B. Schor

adamgurri.liberalcurrents.com
Be sure to spread it around
No kings No dictators October 18 Nokings.org
3 130 300

by Gerard Toal

critgeopolitics.bsky.social
Ireland has come a long way since the Troubles but the Northern Ireland question is still difficult.

Humphreys would be a great representative of Ireland, an embodiment of a post sectarian society. We’re not there yet but she could help move us forward.

That’s why I hope she wins.

👇
Olivia O'Leary: Heather Humphreys would bring this one vital quality to the role of president
The problem is, judging by her performance in this week’s television debate, she doesn’t believe in herself
www.irishtimes.com

by Gerard Toal

critgeopolitics.bsky.social
The occasion was the opening of a new sports facility at the local Gaelic Athletic Association field in my home village. She spoke some Irish and did a terrific job in recognizing history and importance of the club to the community, which was historically nationalist.
1

by Gerard Toal

critgeopolitics.bsky.social
She proved to be an excellent politician over the years.

She has a common touch. When I met her, she knew the names of the local leaders and greeted them like they were old friends. They likely were.
1

by Gerard Toal

critgeopolitics.bsky.social
The peace process in Northern Ireland made a significant difference in the Ulster border region.

One possibility was that Protestants could be politically active again in Monaghan without overt sectarianism.

Humphreys ran for office and won.
1

by Gerard Toal

critgeopolitics.bsky.social
The 1970s in the borderland were tense, with the Troubles raging in Northern Ireland.

One awful event was the murder of a popular local politician called Billy Fox by the IRA because he was a Protestant.
1

by Gerard Toal

critgeopolitics.bsky.social
While I have met her, and we’ve the same age, I don’t know her.

But I do know the place and culture she grew up in.

She was born in a small village called Drum, in County Monaghan, in borderland Ulster.

It’s a Protestant village in a majority Catholic county.

She’s Presbyterian.
1

by Gerard Toal

critgeopolitics.bsky.social
There’s an Irish Presidential election on October 25th.

One of the candidates is Heather Humphreys (pictured).

She’s the center right candidate.

I hope she wins.

Why?
2 2

by Gerard Toal

critgeopolitics.bsky.social
I'll be participating in this, with a great ideological mix of folks (as it should be). You can still sign up to attend.
post-liberalism.bsky.social
Post-liberalism.org @post-liberalism.bsky.social · 15d
Join us on October 20 for a conference gathering scholars and thinkers to explore the contours of the emerging postliberal imagination. You will not want to miss it!

RSVP here: tinyurl.com/sbfht482

by Gerard Toal

critgeopolitics.bsky.social
Great paper. There’s a tension between the concept of organized callousness as dispassionate warfare, the ideological justifications for the war which are existential, and the passionate micro-solidarities of the organizations involved.
1

by Gerard Toal

critgeopolitics.bsky.social
A truth telling center - the Nobel Peace Center building in Oslo - in a world of geopolitical nonsense?

I hope so.
4

Reposted by Gerard Toal

robinsonmeyer.bsky.social
We have a fantastic new essay on China’s new climate pledge by @jeremywallace.bsky.social at @heatmap.news this morning. He argues the country’s indecision about its green future is more than just an environmental disappointment — it is a serious governing mistake.

heatmap.news/ideas/china-...
China Can’t Decide if It Wants to Be the World’s First “Electrostate”
The country’s underwhelming new climate pledge is more than just bad news for the world — it reveals a serious governing mistake.
heatmap.news
5 17

by Gerard Toal

critgeopolitics.bsky.social
America's difficulty is China's opportunity.

www.noemamag.com/trumps-clima...
Trump’s Climate Denial Is A Gift To China | NOEMA
Far from making America great again, the Trump regime’s climate denial could enable China to assume the mantle of global economic leadership — a devastating blow to democracy.
www.noemamag.com
1

by Gerard Toal

critgeopolitics.bsky.social
"There's a case to be made that Beijing missed a trick in landing a more ambitious goal as it would have won broad global praise - a stark contrast to the US"

bbc.com/news/article...
China makes landmark pledge to cut its climate emissions
It is China's first firm goal to reduce emissions but falls well short of what is needed to meet global targets.
bbc.com
1

by Gerard Toal

critgeopolitics.bsky.social
I think Monica's analysis is sound but perhaps it understates the truly frightening dimension of what happened today.

Trump wants to repurpose the military into a Praetorian Guard that will purify the nation & suppress civil resistance to his rule.

Really want to be wrong about this.
3

by Gerard Toal — Reposted by Simon Dalby

critgeopolitics.bsky.social
Wreckless militarism... (and imho hysterical masculinity).

theconversation.com/warrior-etho...
‘Warrior ethos’ mistakes military might for true security − and ignores the wisdom of Eisenhower
As hundreds of military brass descend on a base in Virginia to be addressed by Pete Hegseth, his newly bestowed title is ‘Secretary of War.’ That means something.
theconversation.com
1 1 2

Reposted by Gerard Toal

post-liberalism.bsky.social
Join us on October 20 for a conference gathering scholars and thinkers to explore the contours of the emerging postliberal imagination. You will not want to miss it!

RSVP here: tinyurl.com/sbfht482
1 1

by Gerard Toal

critgeopolitics.bsky.social
And this research will be published eventually in the next decade or so.

by Gerard Toal

critgeopolitics.bsky.social
It doesn't mean they were pro-Russia but instead that there was a gap between where they stood (4) and where they perceived the country (2.5) on a West-Russia 0-10 spectrum.

2024 survey was an aggregate finding & didn't include diaspora.
1

References

Fields & subjects

Updated 1m