Dr. Gerard Toal (Gearóid Ó Tuathail)discusses the current geopolitical antagonism between NATO and Russia. He uses a series of critical geopolitical concepts: geopolitical field, geopolitical culture & geopolitical condition. In doing so, reviews the histories of Russia's invasions of Georgia and Ukraine.

Gerard Toal is a Professor in the School of Public and International Affairs at Virginia Tech. He has a Ph. D. in Political Geography from Syracuse University and is an author on over 75 journal articles and 23 book chapters on territorial conflicts, US foreign policy, de facto states, popular culture, media and critical geopolitics. His latest book is Near Abroad: Putin, the West and the Contest for Ukraine and the Caucasus (Oxford University Press, 2017), which is a study of two Russian invasions of neighboring states, Georgia in 2008 and Ukraine in 2014, and the circumstances surrounding these events, including US involvement in both states. His latest NSF research grant will examine geopolitical attitudes in eight different countries on Russia’s borders.