David Fitzgerald
@davidfitzgerald.bsky.social
1.6K followers 620 following 36 posts
Historian of war, militarization and the US in the world at University College Cork. Author of Uncertain Warriors: The United States Army betwen the Cold War and the War on Terror (https://cambridge.org/9781009235808).
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davidfitzgerald.bsky.social
Shameless self-promotion and all of that, but it is genuinely unsettling to see how some of the most cartoonish ideas that I came across while writing the book have turned into actual policy.
amyjay401.bsky.social
The seeds that are currently bearing fruit in a Department of War focused on “maximum lethality” rather than “tepid legality” were planted in 1990s. Time for more folks to read David Fitzgerald’s excellent Uncertain Warriors #milhist #civmil www.cambridge.org/core/books/u...
Uncertain Warriors
Cambridge Core - Military History - Uncertain Warriors
www.cambridge.org
Reposted by David Fitzgerald
mikeblack114.bsky.social
maybe 10% of the current crop of GOFOs legitimately understand that the US public's default position towards the military historically is somewhere between ambivalence and dislike, and that the last several decades have been different because a variety of institutions made efforts to change it
sodrock.bsky.social
And I truly do not understand why the military is willing to blow up 50 years of rebuilding their credibility with the public on behalf of Donald fucking Trump because god forbid a squad from the 82nd airborne get jumpy somewhere, there is no coming back from that
sodrock.bsky.social
This is actually a good question in the sense that these guys can read polls too. Why hitch their wagons to an administration speed running 35% approval? Even as a half measure you could just get one person on the JCS to fall on their sword out of sheer self preservation…
Reposted by David Fitzgerald
Reposted by David Fitzgerald
lawlorruth.bsky.social
Not your dad’s WW2–find out more in this interview I did recently and get 50% off the book at the same time 🥳
bethanywasik.bsky.social
"This summer marks the 80th anniversary of the 'official' end of WWII, but in 'The Greater Second World War,' the war’s timeline is extended back to 1931 and into the mid-1950s." news.cornell.edu/stories/2025...

Hint: Get 50% off w/code 095000 this week: www.cornellpress.cornell.edu/book/9781501...
A book cover with 'The Greater Second World War' in white text, 'Global Perspectives' in yellow text, and 'Edited by Andrew N. Buchanan and Ruth Lawlor' at the bottom.
davidfitzgerald.bsky.social
It was great to catch up with @ceceliacancellaro.bsky.social but also really cool to see my book out in the wild again!
ceceliacancellaro.bsky.social
Great to catch up with @davidfitzgerald.bsky.social at #SHAFR2025 and honored to be his publisher @shafrhistorians.bsky.social
Reposted by David Fitzgerald
mikeblack114.bsky.social
The spicier take is while this will never happen, there objectively should be an investigation into what unauthorized/unknown to the rest of DoD/the executive communications CENTCOM was having off the books with the Israeli government, because suffice to say I have my suspicions
mikeblack114.bsky.social
Not joking about this by the way, this is a war that was 100% cooked up in Tampa and is 100% illegal
davidfitzgerald.bsky.social
Never thought that writing a piece years ago on the post-Gulf War parades would be of contemporary relevance, but here we are.
ucc.ie
How Trump’s military parade compared to others around the globe

Around the world, parades tell national stories, @davidfitzgerald.bsky.social, specialist in American military and foreign policy, says.
How Trump’s military parade compares to others around the globe
While the idea might be novel for many Americans, military parades are common spectacles in many parts of the world.
www.washingtonpost.com
Reposted by David Fitzgerald
amyjay401.bsky.social
I hate when my historical research is relevant. The GI Rights Hotline has a history going back to before its 1994 founding by a network of peace activists after the Gulf War. GI counseling has been a cornerstone of peace activism since the Vietnam War. Some of the same ppl are still doing it. 🗃️
Reposted by David Fitzgerald
carriealee.bsky.social
OK, I know more about the CA case and we have more information on the deployments coming out, so a few thoughts.

1. This is a massive overreach of POTUS authority. Using Section 12406 to federalize/deploy military forces w/out also invoking the Insurrection Act is literally unprecedented. 1/
Reposted by David Fitzgerald
carriealee.bsky.social
Friends, followers, and colleagues: some professional news, as they say.

After four wonderful years with the US Army War College, I resigned my position effective May 2, 2025. 1/
Reposted by David Fitzgerald
bradleyrsimpson.bsky.social
Utterly disgraceful and an open assault on the historical profession. These are utterly professional, non-partisan advisors, overseeing and giving advice to the State department on the declassification of US government documents.
profsaunders.bsky.social
Unhappy to confirm that the entire Historical Advisory Committee at the State Department received termination notices this afternoon (myself included). The HAC, set up by Congress, oversees the office that produces the FRUS series. history.state.gov/about/hac/in... 1/
Tim Naftali's tweet on the termination of the HAC members without cause.
davidfitzgerald.bsky.social
Took a while, but the ad is also now up on an actual jobs website! www.jobs.ac.uk/job/DMV502/l...
Reposted by David Fitzgerald
bethanywasik.bsky.social
ICYMI, Team #MilitaryHistory - the stellar volume edited expertly by Andrew Buchanan and Ruth Lawlor, "The Greater Second World War: Global Perspectives," has reached its publication date! Head to @cornellupress.bsky.social's page to get one. I'll wait...
www.cornellpress.cornell.edu/book/9781501...
A book cover with the main title in white text reading "The Greater Second World War" and subtitle in yellow text reading "Global Perspectives" in front of a brown wall with holes and deterioration.
Reposted by David Fitzgerald
vandawilcox.bsky.social
wow the US Army now has officially less understanding of and care for their soldiers' morale & wellbeing than the Italian army of 1918! way to go, guys!

happy to sell Pete Hegseth a copy of my book to explain why this is Not Smart but it might have too many long words for him to understand
waitmanwbeorn.com
Fuck them soldiers...and also ping pong.
Reposted by David Fitzgerald
davidfitzgerald.bsky.social
Job alert! My dept is hiring a lecturer in international economic history. This a permanent, full-time post and it's (hopefully) a really good time to be joining the School of History here. Very happy to chat with anyone about the role, UCC, or life in Cork in general. 🗃️

www.ucc.ie/en/future-hu...
Lecturer in International Economic History | University College Cork
UCC wishes to appoint an academic to the role of Lecturer in International Economic History. Reporting to the Head of School of History.
www.ucc.ie
davidfitzgerald.bsky.social
Job alert! My dept is hiring a lecturer in international economic history. This a permanent, full-time post and it's (hopefully) a really good time to be joining the School of History here. Very happy to chat with anyone about the role, UCC, or life in Cork in general. 🗃️

www.ucc.ie/en/future-hu...
Lecturer in International Economic History | University College Cork
UCC wishes to appoint an academic to the role of Lecturer in International Economic History. Reporting to the Head of School of History.
www.ucc.ie
davidfitzgerald.bsky.social
We're hiring! I can echo what Jay says in his second post that there's a lot of exciting stuff on the way in our dept and that Cork is a really great place to live.
jayroszman.bsky.social
🚨FT Permanent Job 🚨
My department is hiring a lecturer (B/B) in 18th-c. Irish history, with the desire for someone whose research and teaching pertains to the Irish 'long eighteenth century (1690-1830)...and broader international, political and intellectual context of the period.' 🗃️
Reposted by David Fitzgerald
milhistlee.bsky.social
The Society for Military History is now archiving historical materials related to military history that are disappearing from federal or state websites. We are open to submissions, anonymously or otherwise. Please see
www.smh-hq.org/archivedreso... and note there the submission links.
Archived Resources | The Society for Military History
www.smh-hq.org
Reposted by David Fitzgerald
caitlindeangelis.bsky.social
I am a recent member of the Society for Military History @smh-historians.bsky.social, so I'm not in charge or anything, but I have mutuals who are members, too.

What is SMH saying about the erasures from public military history sites? Is there a statement? Is it on the agenda for the conference?
Reposted by David Fitzgerald
olufemiotaiwo.bsky.social
not by any stretch the first person to say this but: it is darkly funny how nakedly imperialist Trump turned out to be given the lengths to which some professional opinion havers went to take his "isolationism" intellectually seriously
Reposted by David Fitzgerald
olufemiotaiwo.bsky.social
now seems like a good time to welcome "real rules-based liberal international order has never been tried" libs to the Popular Front group chat
pauljnadeau.bsky.social
The rules-based liberal international order was good, actually