With “War at Home: On Urban Combat and Everyday Life in a State of Emergency” an work appears that analyzes the complex reality of modern warfare in urban spaces. Author Julian Werner examines why cities, due to their strategic relevance and symbolic power, are increasingly turning into the immediate battleground and highlights tactical backgrounds as well as human challenges. The book is available now from Mittler.
At the center of the 256-page work lies the question of why war, despite enormous risks for soldiers and civilians, is not fought somewhere else, but repeatedly in our cities where people live, love and work. “War at Home” spans the arc from the tactical level of house-to-house fighting to the operational reality of this most complex form of warfare, and to its societal-wide consequences. In depth, the book addresses hybrid threats such as cyberattacks or sabotage and simultaneously questions the vulnerability of our infrastructure as well as the psychological consequences when one’s own home becomes a front line.
Cities poorly prepared for urban warfare
Werner furthermore vividly demonstrates how little European metropolises are prepared for the real emergency and how cycles of violence arise that often massively hinder peace efforts. In his work, the former paratrooper officer (EGB) brings in both personal deployment experiences as well as insights from his scholarly work under Prof. Dr. Carlo Masala on current conflicts in Ukraine and in the Middle East.
The author’s proceeds are donated in full by Julian Werner to TraumaAid Deutschland e. V. to support psychological treatment of traumatized people – especially children – in crisis zones. “War at Home: On Urban Combat and Everyday Life in a State of Emergency” is available in softcover format 14.8 x 21 centimeters at the price of 24.95 euros, among other places in bookstores and in the publisher’s online shop.
