Cities under siege : the new military urbanism / Stephen Graham.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Graham, Stephen, 1965-

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

City and town life.

Military policy.

Urban policy.

Social control.

Internal security.

Urban warfare.

Physical Description:

xxx, 402 p : illustrations ; 21 cm

Place of Publication:

London : Verso, 2011.

Summary:

Cities are the new battleground of our increasingly urban world. From the slums of the global South to the wealthy financial centers of the West, Cities Under Siege traces the spread of political violence through the sites, spaces, infrastructure and symbols of the world's rapidly expanding metropolitan areas.

Drawing on a wealth of original research, Stephen Graham shows how Western militaries and security forces now perceive all urban terrain as a conflict zone inhabited by lurking shadow enemies. Urban inhabitants have become targets that need to be continually tracked, scanned and controlled. Graham examines the transformation of Western armies into high-tech urban counter-insurgency forces. He looks at the militarization and surveillance of international borders, the use of 'security' concerns to suppress democratic dissent, and the enacting of legislation to suspend civilian law. In doing so, he reveals how the New Military Urbanism permeates the entire fabric of urban life, from subway and transport networks hardwired with high-tech 'command and control' systems to the insidious militarization of a popular culture corrupted by the all-pervasive discourse of 'terrorism'. Book jacket.

Contents:

1 War Re-enters the City 1

2 Manichaean Worlds 36

3 The New Military Urbanism 60

4 Ubiquitous Borders 89

5 Robowar Dreams 153

6 Theme Park Archipelago 183

7 Lessons in Urbicide 226

8 Switching Cities Off 263

9 Car Wars 302

10 Countergeographies 357.

Notes:

Originally published: 2010.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN:

9781844677627

1844677621

OCLC:

751832783