Gerard Toal, Virginia Tech
Dr. Gerard Toal (Gearóid Ó Tuathail) is Professor in the School of Public and International Affairs at Virginia Tech. He has a PhD 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. A recipient of multiple research grants from the US National Science Foundation (NSF), his latest book is Near Abroad: Putin, the West and the Contest for Ukraine and the Caucasus (Oxford University Press, 2017). The book 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 current NSF research grant will examine geopolitical attitudes in eight different countries on Russia’s borders. 
The 2019 Tartu Conference is organized by the UT’s Centre for EU–Russia Studies (CEURUS) in cooperation with the Institute of Russian and Eurasian Studies at Uppsala University and the Global Europe Centre at the University of Kent.