War in the Smartphone Age

Description

Thanks to smartphones, war is everywhere, all the time. Anyone can view, analyse and comment on photos, videos or other warzone media, far from the frontlines. Where did this technology come from? And what does it mean for the future of war?

This book explains why you see what you do on your phone. It asks how these devices shape our knowledge, conduct and representation of war in the 2020s. It shows why the smartphone is indispensable in peace and wartime, with a profound impact on modern conflict. Every smartphone is a potential weapon: lines blur between war and daily life, and conflict becomes a shared digital experience. Global tech giants orchestrate connectivity, displacing state-controlled narratives. Through social media, smartphones become powerful tools amplifying violence and shaping war’s legitimacy. Apps democratise conflict, enabling anyone to identify and attack perceived enemies. As the Ukraine war has shown, this new reality involves complex, unevenly distributed infrastructures, merging civilian communication with military targeting.

With war accelerating beyond our comprehension, militaries have raced to exploit and adapt to the smartphone age. As technology distorts our understanding of conflict, even while offering the hope of progress, Matthew Ford explores critical questions about today’s hyper-connected battlefield.

Reviews

‘A major contribution and an extraordinarily timely and accessible work. A younger generation of readers without memory or direct experience of the conflicts in Iraq, Afghanistan and Syria will come to see their personal devices in a new light after reading War in the Smartphone Age.’ — Michael Innes, formerly NATO and the UN, author of Streets Without Joy: A Political History of Sanctuary and War, 1959–2009

‘An incisive, disturbing, but uniquely fascinating account of how everyday technologies—once the stuff of social convenience—are now entangled in the mechanics of modern warfare. After reading this, your phone may still seem smart, but you might start to question whose side it’s really on.’ — Michael Rainsborough, Professor of Strategic Theory, Academic Principal, Australian War College

‘War in the Smartphone Age is a peripatetic virtual tour of today’s battlefield, illuminating the breakneck pace of technological advancements and its impact on the character of modern warfare. Ford’s scholarship and energy make him the perfect guide for readers of all backgrounds.’ — Craig Whiteside, Associate Professor of National Security Affairs, US Naval War College, Monterey, co-author of The ISIS Reader

Author(s)

Matthew Ford is Associate Professor in War Studies at the Swedish Defence University. The author of War in the Smartphone Age and Weapon of Choice and co-author of Radical War (all published by Hurst), he was the founding editor of the British Journal for Military History. His research focuses on technology and the conduct of war.