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Book Reviews
Book Review - Urban Operations: War, Crime, and Conflict - John P. Sullivan, Nathan P. Jones and Daniel Weisz Argomedo
SULLIVAN, John P., JONES, Nathan P., and WEISZ ARGOMEDO, Daniel, eds. Boulder, CO: KeyPoint Press, 2024, 421 pages. ISBN: 979-8990915831
Reviewed by Lieutenant-Colonel (Retired) Steve MacBeth, MSC, MSM(2), CD2
The 2022 United Nations World Cities Report states that half of the global population lived in cities in 2020, with that number projected to reach 60% by 2070. Urban areas will absorb 3 billion new people in the next generation, many of whom will move to under-governed and resource-strained cities. In recent years, urban warfare has escalated, with destructive battles in places like Mosul (2016–2017) and Ukrainian cities (2022–present) as well as in the Israeli–Hamas conflict (2023–present), highlighting challenges for military forces, risks to civilians, and complex legal and informational dynamics. Cities, now key hubs for markets, political power, criminal networks and social upheaval, will remain critical terrain in future conflicts.
In Future Shock, Alvin Toffler warns that as situations change, we must adapt by acquiring new knowledge and discarding what is no longer vital. Some military personnel suggest avoiding urban confrontations due to the risk of costly battles that demand significant resources, time and commitment. Urban operations are often seen as niche and outside conventional manoeuvre warfare, which is hard to train for at scale. Urban Operations: War, Crime, and Conflict, edited by John P. Sullivan, Nathan P. Jones and Daniel Weisz Argomedo, offers a comprehensive analysis of urban warfare’s challenges and its implications for security, governance and military strategy, emphasizing that urban combat will likely be a central focus of future conflicts.
The work guides the reader through historical urban warfare examples and contemporary considerations, prompting reflection on Toffler’s idea of needing to “learn, unlearn, and relearn” to adapt to the evolving nature of urban conflict. The book features essays on the evolution of urban warfare, the interaction between traditional and irregular threats, and the socio-political dynamics shaping urban battlefields. With an interdisciplinary approach, it examines tactical, operational and strategic considerations, while integrating emergent technologies and legal aspects for a fresh perspective. This review will summarize the work and use Toffler’s concept as a framework to discuss areas where the book could deepen the understanding of urban warfare. The collection is valuable for military professionals, policy-makers and scholars, offering recent lessons and new insights while reinforcing core concepts.
Book Organization and Summary
The book is organized into historical perspectives, modern dynamics and future considerations, with the central thesis that urban environments will increasingly be focal points of war. It argues that issues like infrastructure, population density and interconnectedness will require innovative security solutions adapted to urban conflict’s physical, informational, legal and human terrains. The book offers flexibility, allowing readers to focus on specific interests or read broadly. The preface, introduction and postscript provide valuable context for the case studies and frame the book as a starting point for further exploration of urban warfare. Case studies span from World War II to contemporary conflicts, covering topics such as civil-military interactions, law enforcement, artificial intelligence, surveillance, war gaming, modern sieges and legal challenges. Geroux and Spencer’s preface links the case studies to broader themes, while David Kilcullen’s postscript emphasizes the interconnectedness of the issues, encouraging readers to view them as part of a complex system. The book seamlessly integrates historical, contemporary and forward-looking strategies.
Relearning, Learning and Unlearning from Urban Operations: War, Crime and Conflict
Relearning
The book reinforces foundational lessons about urban operations that have emerged over the past 25 years, emphasizing the need to retain these lessons amid changing circumstances. First and foremost, there is the understanding that although the character of (urban) warfare is changing due to technological adaptation, those charged with civil and military decision-making powers need to understand that executing urban battles successfully will require extraordinary resources. Should the decision be taken to become engaged, modern operations are more likely to resemble “siege” operations of an earlier generation than rapid operations predicated on precision munitions and perfect situational awareness provided by emergent intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance capabilities. The authors make great effort to ensure that readers relearn not only the lesson of resources, time and risk, but also the requirement for practitioners, policy-makers and scholars to understand that urban operations—perhaps more than any others—due to the concentrations of the population, require tight civil-military coordination and an ability to shift seamlessly or act concurrently to conduct high-intensity combat while establishing the rule of law and interacting with civilian populations.
One of the book’s key strengths is its interdisciplinary approach, combining insights from military history, criminology, sociology and urban studies, offering a nuanced perspective on urban operations. The third chapter, by Russell W. Glenn, best illustrates this, using the Battle of Manila to highlight the civilian cost of war and reminding readers that the population is an operational consideration, not just a humanitarian issue. Throughout the book, General Charles Krulak’s “Three Block War” concept—that a tactical unit may find itself engaged in combat, stability and humanitarian aid tasks within a three-city-block radius—is stood out. Given the lessons presented in the book, that concept had great relevance in the early 21st century but may need to be relearned. The book provides a platform to refresh established concepts and offers a deep perspective on new trends for readers to consider when examining urban operations.
Learning
The book’s greatest strength lies in its ability to introduce and aggregate new material, considerations and perspectives on the urban battlefield for a professional audience. It provides insights into innovative tactics like swarming; emergent technological systems such as wide-angle motion imagery that will change how formations, units and individuals may be detected within urban terrain; how artificial intelligence will enhance decision-making support and increase the speed of battle; and how the reader may most effectively utilize war games to help conceptualize urban battles effectively while addressing the challenges of littoral and subterranean environments.
Unlearning
The lessons learned and relearned in the book are instructional, but equally important is what should be “unlearned.” Readers are urged to consider two key tenets: each urban problem is unique, making templated solutions ineffective, and reconstruction must be viewed as the immediate follow-up to urban operations. Recent operations have separated reconstruction from tactical planning, but Glenn emphasizes that it should be considered before urban battles. He compares post–World War II German efforts to modern-day Ukraine, highlighting the scale of commitment required—a lesson often overlooked in the professional community. This historical perspective, combined with lessons from Iraq and Afghanistan, underscores the dangers of corruption and the disconnect between military objectives and stability planning. Another key theme is the warning against templating urban operations. Given the differences in infrastructure, population and culture in each city, historic templates can serve only as a starting point, requiring updates for each new environment. The book stresses that both the short-term recovery view and the desire to template warfare must be “unlearned” for success in future urban conflicts.
Although the book excels in many areas, it has some limitations. It identifies problems, innovations and changes well but lacks clarity in its recommendations. For instance, the call for greater interagency cooperation is valid, but the book offers little guidance on how to implement it effectively. More actionable solutions would have improved the practical utility for practitioners and policy-makers. Overall, the book is accessible to a broad audience, though some sections, especially those on legal policy and urban theory, may be too complex for readers without specialized knowledge. However, those issues are minor, and readers who wish to do so can delve deeper into specific concepts or theories.
Urban Operations: War, Crime, and Conflict is a timely and thought-provoking contribution to modern warfare literature. Its interdisciplinary analysis and compelling case studies make it a valuable resource for those interested in urban security and conflict. It is highly relevant for Canadian Armed Forces personnel, particularly Canadian Army leaders, as urban operations are increasingly central to modern military strategy. The book’s insights into the interplay between military and non-military actors are invaluable for understanding these complex environments. It also holds value for policy-makers and civilian audiences, highlighting that urban operations require a whole-of-government approach, as military solutions alone are insufficient: development, diplomacy and governance must be integral to urban combat efforts.
This article first appeared in the November, 2025 edition of Canadian Army Journal (21-2).
Brutal Catalyst: What Ukraine’ Cities Tell Us About Recovery from War.
By Russell W. Glenn.
Keypoint Press, 2024. ISBN 978-8-9909-1584-8. Maps. Notes. Bibliography. Index. Pp. iv, 511. $37.99 (paperback).
Brutal Catalyst is exactly the sort of book that needs to be widely read and discussed in Kyiv, Washington, Whitehall, and Brussels. The book as a history text or policy recommendation is deeply imperfect, yet it is in this imperfection that its author, Dr. Russell W. Glenn, is able to provide a catalyst for discussion and consideration. Glenn shows his experience in the think tank space and academic credentials as he weaves together historic case studies and contemporary events. The central argument of the book is that Ukraine’s cities face massive destruction from the conflict now being waged on their land, and recovery from this will be slow and arduous, involving many pitfalls and compromises. Nevertheless, Ukraine can recover and rebuild, and even use the war as a means by which to transform their cities for the better.
To support his argument Glenn draws on three well-known case studies: Berlin, Tokyo, and Manila. Both Berlin and Tokyo were severely damaged by mass bombing, while Manila was destroyed in horrific street fighting. Initially one would ask why Glenn chose these examples, rather than a more contemporary example, like Kabul or Baghdad. Yet it is here Glenn shows his understanding of the city as going beyond physical infrastructure and instead being a complex web of society and social interactions. Baghdad and Kabul were both major urban centers riven by tribal factionalism that defined the reconstruction in their urban areas. This is not so in Ukraine, where the majority of the population is ethnically Ukrainian or Russian, and there are no, despite Russian propaganda protests to the contrary, deep ethnic divisions.
Glenn does, however, also touch on the case study of Sarajevo to illustrate how recovery is possible even in an ethnically fragmented environment. Additionally, if tragically, Russia's use of indiscriminate bombardment has left urban landscapes that are far more reminiscent of Berlin or Tokyo. While the fighting in Mariupol left devastation reminiscent of Stalingrad or Manila. Which is to say, cities whose structure is severely damaged and whose population is traumatized and scattered. Thus, the historical case studies are well-grounded as a starting point for the discussion that Glenn lays out over the remainder of the text.
Across the rest of the text, primarily chapters 6 and 7, Glenn examines the potential issues with reconstruction across a variety of sectors, starting with the need to find and muster consistent economic support. Here Glenn is able to draw on his case studies showing how the Marshall Plan and occupation administration helped or hindered recovery efforts. Glenn is quite direct that Ukraine will need a major infusion of funding to rebuild its physical, economic, and social infrastructure. Glenn is not shy about the challenges of corruption or interest group capture of reconstruction. While he does make suggestions for best practices, ultimately his book is meant to provide Western, and perhaps even Ukrainian readers with a clear framework of best practices and potential challenges.
It is in the exploration of challenges that Glenn shines. He touches on health, mental health, corruption, funding, social spaces, economic activity, energy, and unexploded ordnance. As he rightfully notes, unexploded ordnance is a major hangover from conflict and, in this conflict, that is not an exception. Millions of mines have been buried in Ukraine; thousands, maybe tens of thousands of shells remain unexploded in the Ukrainian earth. For a nation such as Ukraine that relies heavily on agricultural industry and a major driver of its urban economy, the risk of permanent red zones, as have existed in France since 1914, is a substantial handicap to recovery.
Brutal Catalyst is an odd book. It is neither a policy paper nor academic study, but something in between, using history and social science to inform a discussion the author invites the reader to have on the challenges of urban reconstruction after conflict. The historical cause studies and the policy elements benefit from being well-researched and clearly footnoted. Thus, Bruza/ Catalyst is not meant to provide its readers with any definitive answers or even a clear argument. Rather, it is meant to broaden the discussion to encourage policy makers and the general public to think critically about recovery from conflict, its challenges, and its opportunities.
Book Reviews
One of the most refreshing aspects, then, is Glenn's persistence in putting the human cost and toll on civilians front and center throughout the text. The effect of war is not discussed solely in statistics and abstracts but in real human tragedy. While an odd book, there perhaps need to be far more texts like this that do so well in blending academic rigor with potential application, and highlighting the multiple dimensions one must consider when recovering from armed conflict. I am pleased therefore to highly recommend this book for any and all who wish to better understand the challenges that lie ahead in rebuilding Ukraine.
Jeff Hawn London School of Economics and Political Science
London, United Kingdom