National Soldiers and the War on Cities

2011

As our planet urbanizes more rapidly than ever before, a new and insidious militarism is permeating the fabric of cities and urban life. Fuelled by, and perpetuating, the extreme inequalities that have mushroomed as neoliberal globalisation has extended across the world, this new military urbanism is a constellation of ideas, techniques and norms of security and military doctrine.

2014

2017

This paper provides an overview of the historical development, contemporary discourses, and challenges of the urbanization of warfare for international humanitarian law (IHL). By drawing on critical urbanism studies, official military documents, and doctrines, this paper highlights the mutually constitutive relationship between warfare and militarization, with a particular focus on the American armed forces and argues that IHL in its current form is unable to guarantee a humanitarian conduct of war in compliance with its principles of proportionality and precaution. Using the invasion of Iraq in 2003 as a case study, this paper will shed light on the decisive role of the occupying power and its deliberate transformation of the urban battlefield into a militarized zone by targeting dual-use infrastructure and employing discourse and techniques on the ground to securitize urban zones. Therefore, by arguing in favour of the application of customary IHL, which emerges from state practice rather than treaties or conventions, an attempt can be made to close these loopholes. As a more general conclusion, this paper suggests that the mutually constitutive relationship between urbanization and warfare has to become more explicit in military doctrines in order to highlight the responsibility of occupying forces.

2004

“Whilst the Palestinian suicide bomber is rightly condemned for killing and maiming civilians with his or her homemade nail bomb, Israel's supreme court upholds the use of the flechette shell, with which Israel kills and maims civilians in the Gaza strip, one of the most densely populated places in the world. These shells, shot from tanks, are packed with thousands of tiny steel darts that spray in a 'kill radius' some 300 meters long and 90 meters wide. Israeli flechette or Palestinian nail bomb: what is the difference again?”(Clark, 2003, 34).

ACTA 2023 - War and the City: The Effects of Armed Conflicts on Urban Space and Population, 2024

As the Turkish Commission of Military History and the Turkish National Defense University, we were honored to host the 48th International Congress of the International Commission of Military History in İstanbul between 3-8 September 2023. This congress had historical importance for us as it coincided with the centenary of the establishment of the Republic of Türkiye. With 140 participants from 29 countries, the congress featured an extensive academic program organized into 14 parallel sessions over four days. 53 scholars presented their research, contributing to a vibrant exchange of ideas. Beyond the academic sessions, a rich cultural program provided participants with the opportunity to experience Istanbul’s unique historical and cultural heritage, a city that has long been a crossroads of civilizations and the capital of empires. The congress’s theme, “War and the City: The Effects of Armed Conflicts on Urban Space and Population” addressed the evolving relationship between warfare and urban environments. Historically, this relationship was characterized by gradual change, but the 19th century witnessed a marked acceleration in transformation due to the increasing complexity of warfare. Technological advancements played a pivotal role in this evolution. Lind’s four-generation framework for understanding warfare is instrumental in contextualizing and analyzing these changes. The first generation, characterized by ancient battles with basic military equipment and tactics, had limited impact on civilians and cities. The second generation, with innovations such as new weapons and compulsory military service, saw increased effects on urban spaces and populations, lasting until WWII. The third and fourth generations, representing modern warfare, emerged during WWII. The advent of air power extended the battlefield beyond traditional front lines, significantly increasing the impact on civilians and urban areas. Cities and their inhabitants became direct military targets to undermine enemy morale and disrupt tactics. Unconventional tactics, including terrorism and proxy wars, further blurred lines between civilians and combatants, highlighting the profound and lasting effects of armed conflicts on urban areas. These developments underscore the profound and lasting effects of armed conflicts on urban spaces and populations.

ACTA 2023 - War and the City: The Effects of Armed Conflicts on Urban Space and Population, 2024

As the Turkish Commission of Military History and the Turkish National Defense University, we were honored to host the 48th International Congress of the International Commission of Military History in İstanbul between 3-8 September 2023. This congress had historical importance for us as it coincided with the centenary of the establishment of the Republic of Türkiye. With 140 participants from 29 countries, the congress featured an extensive academic program organized into 14 parallel sessions over four days. 53 scholars presented their research, contributing to a vibrant exchange of ideas. Beyond the academic sessions, a rich cultural program provided participants with the opportunity to experience Istanbul’s unique historical and cultural heritage, a city that has long been a crossroads of civilizations and the capital of empires. The congress’s theme, “War and the City: The Effects of Armed Conflicts on Urban Space and Population” addressed the evolving relationship between warfare and urban environments. Historically, this relationship was characterized by gradual change, but the 19th century witnessed a marked acceleration in transformation due to the increasing complexity of warfare. Technological advancements played a pivotal role in this evolution. Lind’s four-generation framework for understanding warfare is instrumental in contextualizing and analyzing these changes. The first generation, characterized by ancient battles with basic military equipment and tactics, had limited impact on civilians and cities. The second generation, with innovations such as new weapons and compulsory military service, saw increased effects on urban spaces and populations, lasting until WWII. The third and fourth generations, representing modern warfare, emerged during WWII. The advent of air power extended the battlefield beyond traditional front lines, significantly increasing the impact on civilians and urban areas. Cities and their inhabitants became direct military targets to undermine enemy morale and disrupt tactics. Unconventional tactics, including terrorism and proxy wars, further blurred lines between civilians and combatants, highlighting the profound and lasting effects of armed conflicts on urban areas. These developments underscore the profound and lasting effects of armed conflicts on urban spaces and populations.

Parameters, Vol 40, no. 3, 2010

A significant and recurring feature of most, if not all, counterinsurgency campaigns is that the forces of counterinsurgency begin their efforts in the major cities of a contested country. Ideally, once effective control within these urban centers is achieved, the forces of the counterinsurgency then work outward from these islands of geographic isolation in an effort to establish political and administrative control over the rural countryside. During America's involvement in Vietnam, for example, the so-called "pacification campaigns" started in the provincial capitals and were expected to spread out into the remainder of the rural areas. 1 In the late 1950s, at the time of the French counterinsurgency in Algeria, the counterinsurgents placed a predominant emphasis on the control and administration of cities, largely ignoring the hot, arid, and inhospitable regions of eastern and southern Algeria. 2 Similarly, during the Soviet war in Afghanistan, counterinsurgency forces were positioned in the major cities of Herat, Kabul, and Kandahar to protect the "useful" portions of Afghanistan. 3 More recently, during the latter portion of Canada's counterinsurgency in Kandahar province, Afghanistan, there was a similar operational bias toward the immediate vicinity of Kandahar city. 4 The frequent recurrence of this tendency effectively answers an often implicit question with regard to a counterinsurgency's conduct: where, in geographical terms, does a counterinsurgency begin its campaign? The motivation for beginning a counterinsurgency campaign within the cities is rarely highlighted, and the effect of this decision on the conduct and ending of an insurgency is rarely given adequate treatment or consideration. The absence of deliberation on this subject is particularly puzzling because the retrenchment of counterinsurgent forces in urban areas actually favors the

FOOTPRINT, 2017

Stabilising the Contemporary Middle East and North Africa, 2019

Comolli discusses the challenges that are specific to stabilisation efforts in cities. She relies on international lessons from past conflict and post-conflict situations which are of relevance for the Middle East. Building on an overview of demographic and urbanisation trends and on a discussion of urban warfare, the author argues that given the multifaceted challenges presented by urban conflict and post-conflict scenarios military or security interventions on their own are insufficient. Instead, conflict cities would benefit from ‘area-based’ approaches. The latter involve targeting aid and other interventions to promote the recovery of specific areas such as building public services in a given neighbourhood. Crucially, this approach rests on greater participation by local communities in defining priorities and strategies.

Third World Thematics: A TWQ Journal, 2019

The world is urbanising rapidly and cities are increasingly held as the most important arenas for sustainable development. Cities emerging from war are no exception, but across the globe, many postwar cities are ravaged by residual or renewed violence, which threatens progress towards peace and stability. This collection of articles addresses why such violence happens, where and how it manifests, and how it can be prevented. It includes contributions that are informed by both postwar logics and urban particularities, that take intra-city dynamics into account, and that adopt a spatial analysis of the city. By bringing together contributions from different disciplinary backgrounds, all addressing the single issue of postwar violence in cities from a spatial perspective, the articles make a threefold contribution to the research agenda on violence in postwar cities. First, the articles nuance our understanding of the causes and forms of the uneven spatial distribution of violence, insecurities, and trauma within and across postwar cities. Second, the articles demonstrate how urban planning and the built environment shape and generate different forms of violence in postwar cities. Third, the articles explore the challenges, opportunities, and potential unintended consequences of conflict resolution in violent urban settings.