Radical War

The new warfare is chaotic. 'Smart' devices, apps, archives and algorithms are blurring the boundaries between victims, perpetrators and bystanders; civilians and soldiers; memory and history. This book shows how the digital explosion has fragmented the battlefield, weaponised attention, and made everyone a participant in wars without end. Radical War reveals how contemporary conflicts are planned, fought, experienced, legitimised, remembered and forgotten in a continuous, connected way. As with all current events today, both those on the front line and those watching from afar are processing war through digitally saturated fields of perception. In other words, data and attention are now the primary drivers in battle--and they provide the means to take control. This highly original work illuminates the emerging, dystopian ecology of war. Through a unique, interdisciplinary lens, Ford and Hoskins map the complex digital and human inter-dependencies that sustain conflict today.