War and the City

"War and the City examines the geopolitical significance of the Lebanese Civil War with specific focus on micro-level exploration of the way in which the urban landscape of Beirut was transformed by the conflict. Focusing on the initial phase of the war between 1975-76, known as the Two Years' War, this study moves away from formal macro-level geopolitical analyses of the war and proposes an exploration of the urban nature of the conflict through bodies, spaces and urban materials. The book utilizes urban viewpoints in order to examine the nature of sovereignty in Lebanon and how it is inscribed on the landscape of the city. The emphasis on materiality also allows connections to be drawn between the urban impact of the civil war and the historical legacies of Lebanon's colonial past. While most scholarship has thus far focused on post-war reconstruction of the city, the initial process of destruction has been neglected. This study investigates how geopolitical meaning is re-negotiated during conflict."--Bloomsbury Publishing.