Urban Operations: War, Crime, and Conflict

REQUIRED READING FOR THE NEXT GENERATION OF CONFLICT“Essential reading for academics, policy makers, and security professionals alike.”— Sean Costigan, PhD, Professor, Transnational Security Studies, George C. Marshall European Center for Security Studies“A most timely and valuable repository of knowledge about urban warfare.”— Vanda Felbab-Brown, PhD, Senior Fellow, Foreign Policy, The Brookings Institution

WHY CITIES ARE THE BATTLEFIELD OF THE 21ST CENTURY.

From the streets of Gaza and the rubble of Ukraine to the megacities of tomorrow, urban operations are no longer an exception—they are the dominant mode of conflict. The stakes are immense, and the rules are changing faster than doctrine can keep up.

Urban Operations: War, Crime, and Conflict brings together new contributions from the world’s leading experts in urban security, military strategy, and counter-terrorism. This definitive volume, which originated as a special issue of the Journal of Strategic Security, provides a comprehensive, practitioner-focused look at modern and historic urban security operations, offering strategic lessons vital for preparing for tomorrow's complex threats.

INSIDE THIS VOLUME, YOU WILL FIND CRITICAL INSIGHTS ON:

• The Modern Battlefield: Case studies of urban warfare across different regions and decades, from Kyiv and Gaza to Haiti and Venezuela.
• Non-State Actors: New challenges in policing the convergence of traditional military conflict, organized crime, and terror groups.
• The Cutting Edge of Tech: Theoretical contributions on the impact of Artificial Intelligence (AI) and advanced data processing on urban combat.
• Lessons Learned: Strategic takeaways for military commanders, policy advisors, and emergency response teams to improve operational readiness.

THIS IS A MUST-HAVE REFERENCE.

Co-edited by John P. Sullivan, Nathan P. Jones, and Daniel Weisz Argomedo, this volume is required reading for intelligence analysts, military professionals, security policymakers, and anyone seeking to understand the modern face of war.

Get your copy today and prepare for the growing threat of conflict in an increasingly urbanized world.

“This informative book could not be more timely…this volume addresses…the complex challenges seen today in Ukraine, Haiti, Venezuela, Gaza, and in places that will feature in tomorrow’s headlines.”
— Brian M. Jenkins, Senior Adviser to the President of the RAND Corporation

“Urban Operations: War, Crime, and Conflict is essential reading for academics, policy makers, and security professionals alike.”
— Sean Costigan, PhD, Professor, Transnational Security Studies, George C. Marshall European Center for Security Studies

“Required reading for all those interested in understanding the dominant military environment of the twenty-first century!”
— Louis A. DiMarco, PhD, Professor, Department of Military History, USA Command and Staff College

“A most timely and valuable repository of knowledge about urban warfare.”
— Vanda Felbab-Brown, PhD, Director, Initiative on Nonstate Armed Actors; Co-Director, Africa Security Initiative; Senior Fellow, Foreign Policy; The Brookings Institution

“This is a must read for professionals and all those interested in the modern face of war.”
— Professor Michael A. Hennessy, PhD, Head, Defence Studies, Canadian Forces [Higher Command] College

Published by KeyPoint Press. Denver, Colorado.
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www.keypointpress.com/books

Dr. John P. Sullivan retired as a lieutenant with the Los Angeles Sheriff's Department. He is an Instructor in the Safe Communities Institute, University of Southern California. He has a PhD from the Open University of Catalonia, an MA from the New School for Social Research, and a BA from the College of William and Mary. He received a lifetime achievement award from the National Fusion Center Association in November 2018 for his contributions to the national network of fusion centers. He is an instructor in the 40th Infantry Division Urban Warfare Planners Course and a Member of the Urban Violence Research Network (UVRN) and the Network of Experts at the Global Initiative against Transnational Organized Crime (GI-TOC).

Dr. Nathan P. Jones is an Associate Professor of Security Studies in the College of Criminal Justice at Sam Houston State University. He is the author of Mexico's Illicit Drug Networks and the State Reaction (2016) with Georgetown University Press. His areas of interest include organized crime violence in Mexico, social network analysis, border security, and the political economy of homeland security. Dr. Jones is also a Senior Fellow with the Small Wars Journal-El Centro, a Rice University Baker Institute Drug Policy and US-Mexico Center non-resident scholar, and the book review editor for the Journal of Strategic Security.

Dr. Daniel Weisz Argomedo earned his PhD in Political Science at the University of California Irvine with a focus on International Relations and Comparative Studies. His dissertation focused on the war on drugs and its impact on women's security in Mexico. He holds an M.A. in Political Science from San Diego State University where he wrote a dissertation on 'Hacktivism and social movements; and earned a B.A. in Political Science from the University of Alberta where he wrote a thesis on the Mexican war on drugs. He wrote "Climate Change, Drug Traffickers and La Sierra Tarahumara" for the special issue on climate change and global security at the Journal of Strategic Security. He is fluent in Spanish and his research interests include cyberwarfare, the environment, the war on drugs, women's security and contemporary Latin American politics and history.