Urban Warfare in the Twenty-First Century

Anthony King

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English

Polity Press
23 July 2021

History; Politics & government

Warfare has migrated into cities. From Mosul to Mumbai, Aleppo to Marawi, the major military battles of the twenty-first century have taken place in densely populated urban areas. Why has this happened? What are the defining characteristics of urban warfare today? What are its military and political implications?

Leading sociologist Anthony King answers these critical questions through close analysis of recent urban battles and their historical antecedents. Exploring the changing typography and evolving tactics of the urban battlescape, he shows that although not all methods used in urban warfare are new, operations in cities today have become highly distinctive. Urban warfare has coalesced into gruelling micro-sieges, which extend from street level – and below – to the airspace high above the city, as combatants fight for individual buildings, streets and districts. At the same time, digitalized social media and information networks communicate these battles to global audiences across an urban archipelago, with these spectators often becoming active participants in the fight.

A timely reminder of the costs and the horror of war and violence in cities, this book offers an invaluable interdisciplinary introduction to urban warfare in the new millennium for students of international security, urban studies and military science, as well as military professionals.

By: Anthony King
Imprint: Polity Press
Country of Publication: United Kingdom
Dimensions: Height: 229mm, Width: 150mm, Spine: 20mm
Weight: 386g
ISBN: 9781509543663
ISBN 10: 150954366X
Pages: 288
Publication Date: 23 July 2021
Audience: Professional and scholarly , Undergraduate
Format: Paperback
Publisher's Status: Active

Anthony King is the Chair of War Studies at the University of Warwick. He has published widely on war and the armed forces, including a trilogy on contemporary military transformation: The Transformation of Europe's Armed Forces (CUP, 2011), The Combat Soldier (OUP, 2013) and Command (CUP, 2019). In addition to his research, he has advised and mentored the British, European and American armed forces, as well as NATO in Afghanistan.

Reviews for Urban Warfare in the Twenty-First Century

Anthony King explores new and unique aspects of urban warfare caused by geographical, sociological, doctrinal, and technological changes in the last thirty years. He mines insights from practitioners of recent urban combat in Iraq, Syria, Ukraine, and the Philippines to examine what has remained consistent and what has changed in urban warfare today - and what the future might hold for military forces faced with this difficult challenge. Highly recommended for readers interested in the changing character of war in the 21st century. Peter R. Mansoor, author of Surge: My Journey with General David Petraeus and the Remaking of the Iraq War Anthony King has written an important book that is likely to become the standard text on urban warfare in the twenty-first century. It is comprehensive in scope and offers a sophisticated and multi-layered analysis of how the world's demographic revolution from a rural to an urban environment is taking the conduct of war into the city. This study will be embraced by military practitioners, scholars, and government policy-makers but also deserves a wide readership among all those concerned with municipal security and the sociology of urban violence. Michael Evans, Hassett Professor of Military Studies, Australian Defence College, Canberra