Get Free Shipping on orders over $89
Urbicide in Syria : A postcolonial understanding of civil war - Gabriel Garroum Pla

Urbicide in Syria

A postcolonial understanding of civil war

By: Gabriel Garroum Pla

Hardcover | 24 June 2025

At a Glance

Hardcover


$214.49

or 4 interest-free payments of $53.62 with

 or 

Ships in 5 to 7 business days

This book provides an exhaustive analysis of the relationship between violence, urban space, and political subjectivity in Syria.

It does so through an exploration of how urbicide, the violent destruction and alteration of the urban fabric, becomes a tool for the regime's governmental and sovereign exercise of power, decisively redefining state-society dynamics and cementing political loyalty in Syria. Adopting a critical and postcolonial perspective, and through the cases of Damascus and Aleppo, the volume presents a unique perspective on the civil war by examining socio-material changes in everyday political spaces and processes, from mundane destruction to urban development and reconstruction efforts, and how these are experienced by local communities. Featuring rich data collection through interviews, archival research, and aesthetic sources, the book ultimately foregrounds Syrians' political agency and creativity despite ruination.

Industry Reviews

'Urbicide in Syria: A Postcolonial understanding of civil war by Gabriel Garroum Pla is a polished and cohesive study of how war, through its tendency to destroy urban space, works to simultaneously construct and reinforce political subjectivities. Published as part of the Manchester University Press series on 'Identities and Geopolitics in the Middle East', the book certainly makes a significant contribution to this broad theme. Specifically, it does so by focusing on the concept of urbicide - that is urban destruction and spatial violence - during the Syrian conflict since 2011 and its postcolonial resonance... The sudden fall of the Assad regime in December 2024 does nothing to lessen the relevance of Urbicide in Syria. Rather, the work's value can be considered timeless, and perhaps especially timely at present.'
Thomas McGee, British Journal of Middle Eastern Studies

More in Urban Communities

The Big Man Upstairs : DCI Logan Crime Thrillers - JD Kirk

RRP $22.99

$19.75

14%
OFF
Spaces of Urban Platformisation : Airbnb and Coworking in Berlin - Rabea Berfelde
Blood and Treachery : DCI Logan Crime Thrillers - JD Kirk

RRP $22.99

$18.75

18%
OFF
Africa Is Not A Country : Breaking Stereotypes of Modern Africa - Dipo Faloyin
Against Landlords : How to Solve the Housing Crisis - Nick Bano
Community Development for Social Change - Dave Beck

RRP $83.99

$54.99

35%
OFF
Stop Doing That Sh*t - Gary John Bishop

RRP $34.99

$28.75

18%
OFF
Forever Hong Kong : A Global City's Decolonization Struggle - Ching Kwan Lee