INTRODUCTION
Lead Editors:
Deen Sharp, PhD, Department of Geography and Environment, London School of Economics and Political Science.
Thiruni Kelegama, PhD, Department of Contemporary South Asian Studies, University of Oxford.
The Call for Papers initiative, known as Critical and Conceptual Advances in Urban Studies, aspires to be a catalyst for groundbreaking research and thought-provoking discussions that will shape the future of urban studies and contribute to the sustainable and equitable development of cities around the globe. As a key part of the initiative, this call for The Urbanisation of Conflict and Conflict Urbanisation aims to develop new theoretical and empirically grounded insights into how conflict is being shaped by the urban and, in turn, how the urban is being transformed by war.
THE URBANISATION OF CONFLICT AND CONFLICT URBANISATION
In many of today’s contemporary conflicts across the globe, warfare has increasingly shifted to urban environments. Conflicts such as those in Ukraine, Palestine (Gaza), Lebanon, Yemen, Sudan, across the Sahel and Myanmar are not only reshaping urban spaces but also impacted by the dynamics of urbanisation. The ‘urbanisation of conflict’ highlights how conflict is gravitating toward urban areas, targeting sites of urbanity, such as public spaces, cafes and schools, and basic infrastructure that makes urban life possible, such as electricity, water and roads. In contrast, ‘conflict urbanisation’ refers to how warfare is actively shaping the process of urbanisation. Militaries worldwide are adapting their strategies, focusing not only on the destruction of cities but also on how to effectively operate, plan, control and build the urban battlefield.
The urbanisation of conflict represents a unique urban process. Conflict urbanisation can involve a range of policies and practices that construct, design and organise the built environment, including discriminatory planning and building regulations, restrictions on certain materials, introduction of surveillance systems, emplacement of ‘steel rings’, concrete walls, and checkpoints. Additionally, militaries are involved in constructing critical infrastructure and logistical systems, such as roads and tunnels, that serve strategic purposes in urban warfare. Military bases and infrastructures are also frequently located in urban centres, including barracks, weapon depots and command centres. Urban contexts can also be a driver of conflict. Acute competition for urban land coupled with the regulatory failures of states can result in war. To comprehend contemporary urbanisation and urban contexts fully, it is essential to acknowledge the ways in which warfare reshapes and becomes embedded within urban environments.
The Urbanisation of Conflict and Conflict Urbanisation initiative aims to address a broad range of topics at this intersection. This includes, inter alia, urbicide, domicide, the right to the city, securitisation, refugee camps and spaces of exception, contentious urban politics (including protests, riots, strikes and social unrest), gentrification, informality, displacement and land rights. Each call for papers within this series will stress a different aspect of the urbanisation of conflict and conflict urbanisation and future calls will be announced in 2025 and 2026.
In this first call for papers, the focus is specifically on armed conflict and violence in urban contexts. While concepts like ‘urbicide’ have been used to examine the social impact of large-scale infrastructure projects, such as the Cross Bronx Expressway, this series seeks to solicit papers, for example, explicitly on urbicide in the context of warfare. Though urban conflict and violence are not new, the speed, scale and intensity of these phenomena are unprecedented, driven in part by technological innovations that are transforming urban warfare. Advanced surveillance systems, drones, and militarised urban planning strategies are including deployed in cities, reshaping how conflicts are conducted in urban space. This series invites papers that explore the significance of these new dynamics of urban conflict and violence for contemporary urbanisation and for urban theory.
We look forward to submissions that are theoretically focused and empirically grounded on the topic of the urbanisation of conflict and conflict urbanisation. We invite papers from any discipline or inter/intra disciplinary approaches that build on the long-standing research on the urbanisation of conflict and conflict urbanisation and make novel contributions at the leading edge of urban scholarship. Submissions may include empirically driven articles, conceptual papers addressing these themes from any global context, and critical commentaries that engage with key issues related to urban conflict, advancing policy and scholarly debates. Additionally, we encourage review articles that assess and outline current trends and development aligned with the theme of this call.
Contributions may address a range of topics, including but not limited to:
The terms urbicide and domicide have gained traction among urban studies scholars, journalists, practitioners and legal experts, underscoring a growing recognition of the distinct nature of urban conflicts. Both concepts have undergone significant theoretical elaboration in tandem with the global rise in urban conflict.
We invite submissions that build on the existing theoretical frameworks surrounding urbicide and domicide, while also encouraging contributions that push beyond these established paradigms. Submissions should focus on conceptual innovation in urban research, offering clear advancements to both current and emergent theoretical debates.
New technologies are fundamentally transforming the scale, speed and intensity of urban warfare, as well as concentrating conflict within cities. From surveillance systems, AI-driven targeting systems and autonomous weapons, these innovations are reshaping not only the conduct of war but also the structure and dynamics of urban life. These technological innovations are intensifying the urbanisation of conflict by making urban areas more vulnerable to precision strikes and network disruptions. The interconnection between conflict, technology and urban space is reshaping urbanisation in profound ways.
We invite submissions that explore the impacts of these technologies on urban contexts.
Warfare is a key driver of urban securitisation and militarisation leading to complex constellations of walls, checkpoints, barriers and barbed wire that fundamentally reshape urban processes and spatial arrangements. Divided cities has long been a term used in urban studies to explain how cities, often through conflict, are physically, socially and politically fragmented along lines of ethnicity, religion, race, class or political allegiance. Recent scholarship has focused on the everyday geopolitics and atmospheric securitisation, revealing how securitisation becomes embedded in the fabric of everyday life. Securitisation and militarisation can also blur the division between war and peace. The military presence in cities is expanding and resulting in urban transformation.
We invite submissions that explore the impacts of militarisation and securitisation on urban contexts, including the reconfiguration of infrastructure, basic urban services, governance, and lived experience in conflict settings.
Competition over urban land and failures in governance have frequently driven conflict, particularly in cities where land is scarce and contested. In the context of the climate emergency, these pressures are intensifying, as the demand for land grows alongside the risk of displacement and social unrest. The intersection between land, urban informality, and conflict requires deeper examination, particularly as efforts to formalise property rights, allocate housing or upgrade infrastructure in densely populated informal settlements can inadvertently exacerbate tensions or trigger violent disputes. Competition over land is growing more intense along with the risk of conflict.
We invite submissions that contribute critically engage with urban land conflicts, exploring the socio-political, economic and environmental factors that shape them.
Recent scholarship on urban conflict has stressed that war and urban violence does not only involve deliberate destruction of buildings and urban space, but can also encompass the construction and planning of urban fabrics. This brings into focus how urban (re)construction, rather than signalling the end of conflict, can become part of the continuation warfare by other means. Reconstruction projects in several different “post-war” contexts have resulted in further displacement, entrenched inequalities or created new forms of marginalisation. The entanglement of urban development with conflict blurs the lines between war and post-war phases, complicating traditional notions of peace and recovery. Additionally, warfare often accelerates rates of urbanisation as people from rural areas seeks safety in urban enclaves or are forcible displaced into cities, reshaping urban landscapes and social dynamics.
We invite submissions that contribute critically engage the way in which (re)construction intersects with conflict and urbanisation, addressing issues such as contested rebuilding efforts, uneven development and the politics of space in conflict-affected areas.
Authors interested in contributing to this theme have two options for submission: 1) full-length paper submission, and 2) abstract submission for prioritised assessment.
Note that we strongly encourage authors to submit abstracts and papers before the suggested deadlines. We will process abstract and paper submissions as and when received. The invited full manuscript submissions will be prioritised during the internal screening and external review processes at the Journal. In addition, unlike standard special issues that are published as a group when they are ready, the Journal is committed to the timely publication of the accepted papers under this call. The Journal will curate the accepted papers as an online collection and publish them individually in hardcopy as and when they are ready.
Thank you for your consideration. We appreciate your interest and are excited to receive your contributions, which will help advance the dialogue on understanding The Urbanisation of Conflict and Conflict Urbanisation.
Full-Length Paper Submission
Urban Studies encourages researchers to respond to this call through existing paper submission mechanisms at the Journal as soon as possible if you have a full-length paper ready for submission. To do so:
- Submit your full-length paper by Monday 30 June 2025 to Urban Studies via the ScholarOne portal.
- Your paper must be formatted according to our guidance here.
- Ensure your cover letter explicitly states that the submission is in response to the The Urbanisation of Conflict and Conflict Urbanisation call for papers.
- Tick the Special Issue category in both Step 1 and Step 5 on the ScholarOne submission form.
The standard peer-review process of the Journal will apply, including pre-screening by a theme lead. If the paper passes pre-screening, it will undergo review by external reviewers in the normal way.
Abstract Submission for Prioritised Assessment
Please note that the window for abstract submission for prioritised assessment is now closed however any enquiries about full paper submission or about this call for papers can be sent to our Editorial Office.
Abstracts already received will be reviewed on a rolling basis and those selected for advancement to a full manuscript invitation will be informed by Monday 14 April 2025 or earlier.
