METROPOLITAN BATTLEFIELDS: URBAN TOPOGRAPHY AND THE WEAPONIZATION OF GOVERNANCE IN BAGHDAD

Following the 2003 invasion of Iraq, challenges to the US-led reconstruction escalated into a complex conflict over control of the capital city of Baghdad. The Battle for Baghdad involved military combat, mass-casualty terrorism, extreme criminality, and communal strife, as well as welfare provision, civic outreach, economic development, and local politics. State and nonstate actors used bullets, bombs, and their ability to control the provision and denial of city services to residents in their attempts to achieve a range of strategic aims. During this battle, the city provided both the location for the conflict and the means to wage it – an arena and an arsenal. This study constructs a theoretical framework for analyzing both the spatial and instrumental aspects of urban environments during conflict, demonstrating how governance operates across networks of physical installations and political institutions. Exploiting vulnerabilities to governance systems, combatants pursue organizational aims, compete against rivals, and challenge state authority. The trajectory of the Battle for Baghdad was shaped by dynamic relationships among its belligerents and a complex urban topography of territorial, demographic, and infrastructural features. A three-part analysis of the Battle for Baghdad evaluates how the reconstruction policies of the US-led Coalition converged with the insurgencies of al-Qaeda in Iraq (AQI) and Jaish al-Mahdi (JAM) to produce a complex conflict in which these combatants weaponized governance to assert control over Baghdad’s urban topography. Evaluation of combatant tactics produces a typology for categorizing efforts as catastrophic or concentrated denial, and legitimate, illicit, or alternative provision of services. Reflecting new approaches to the analysis of urban environments and political violence, this study aims to build bridges between those who understand cities and those who understand conflict. Concluding with recommendations for future research, this study aims to inform discussions on order, conflict, and violence, by highlighting how systems of urban infrastructure influence complex conflict on a metropolitan battlefield