Anthony King
Professor Anthony King, Chair of War Studies at the University of Warwick in the UK, recently authored “Urban Warfare in the Twenty-First Century.” His previous books on infantry tactics and army command at the divisional level prompted him to undertake this book from a sociological vantage. He posits that urban warfare can be traced back to the siege of Jericho. Warfare has transitioned into cities, such as Mosul, Aleppo and Kyiv. One major change is that urban warfare has evolved into grueling micro-sieges, ranging from below street level to the airspace above the city. While the combatants jostle for local control, digitalized social media and information networks communicate the struggles to global audiences and diasporas, which often bring in outside participants. Kyiv is a prime example of how combatants in a city are mobilizing a broad diaspora to support their efforts through racial, ethnic and cultural alignments. One key is to use the United Nations and other diplomatic mechanisms to avoid disastrous wars.
