Everand Logo

Welcome to Everand!

  • Discover millions of ebooks, audiobooks, and so much more with a free trial

    Only $11.99/month after trial. Cancel anytime.

    Unavailable
    Out of the Mountains: the coming age of the urban guerrilla
    Unavailable
    Out of the Mountains: the coming age of the urban guerrilla
    Unavailable
    Out of the Mountains: the coming age of the urban guerrilla
    Ebook489 pages9 hours

    Out of the Mountains: the coming age of the urban guerrilla

    By David Kilcullen

    4/5

    ()

    Unavailable in your country

    Unavailable in your country

    About this ebook

    In his third book, David Kilcullen takes us out of the mountains: away from the remote, rural guerrilla warfare of Afghanistan, and into the marginalised slums and complex security threats of the world’s coastal cities, where almost 75 per cent of us will be living by mid-century.

    Scrutinising major trends — population growth, coastal urbanisation, and increasing digital connectivity — he projects a future of feral cities and urban systems under stress, as well as greater overlaps between crime and war, internal and external threats, and the real and virtual worlds.

    Informed by Kilcullen’s own fieldwork in the Caribbean, Somalia, Afghanistan, and India, and that of his field-research team in cities in Central America and Africa, Out of the Mountains presents detailed, on-the-ground accounts of the new faces of modern conflict — from the 2008 Mumbai terrorist attacks, to transnational drug networks, local street gangs, and the uprisings of the Arab Spring. Deeply researched and compellingly argued, it is an invaluable roadmap to the future and its potential dangers.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherScribe Publications
    Release dateSep 30, 2013
    ISBN9781922072658
    Unavailable
    Out of the Mountains: the coming age of the urban guerrilla
    Author

    David Kilcullen

    David Kilcullen is a professor in the School of Humanities and Social Sciences of the University of New South Wales and a professor of practice in global security at Arizona State University. A former soldier and diplomat, he served as a counterinsurgency advisor during the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. Dr Kilcullen is also the author of the highly acclaimed The Accidental Guerrilla, Out of the Mountains, and Blood Year.

    Read more from David Kilcullen

    Related to Out of the Mountains

    Related ebooks

    Social Science For You

    View More
    View More

    Related podcast episodes

    Related articles

    • Article

      The Korean War That Almost Was

      Mar 5, 2019

      The Korean War That Almost Was
      10 min read

    • Article

      Boris’s Brain

      Aug 21, 2019

      Boris’s Brain
      4 min read

    • Article

      We Can Stop Some Disasters

      Feb 19, 2023

      Sociologist Steve Matthewman (“Trauma centre”, February 11) refers to Christchurch and its environs as “a living laboratory for investigating the resurrection and rebuilding of cities and communities”. Personally, I’d like us to contemplate the many

      8 min read

    • Article

      A Peer Review of the March For Science

      Apr 27, 2017

      This past weekend, the March For Science drew hundreds of thousands of scientists and science supporters onto the streets in 600 locations on six continents. It was, by most accounts (including those of science historians), an unprecedented event. Bu

      4 min read

    • Article

      1. The Brightside

      Jul 2, 2016

      1. The Brightside
      8 min read

    • Article

      The Art Of TIME

      Nov 5, 2018

      IN HIS 2015 BOOK, THE ARTIST JR ASKS, “CAN Art Change the World?” Artists see beyond walls, across divides, around corners. Through their eyes, we understand the world in new, clearer ways—which is why TIME since its founding has worked with great ar

      3 min read

    • Article

      Gateway Anger

      May 14, 2023

      Gateway Anger
      2 min read

    • Article

      The Atlantic Daily: Should One Platform Have All That Power?

      May 9, 2019

      Plus: You may have nothing to hide—but you should care about internet privacy, what astronauts do for fun in space, the real damage of pretend active-shooter drills, and more

      3 min read

    • Article

      Back On The Brink

      Oct 30, 2022

      Back On The Brink
      5 min read

    • Article

      Rape And The Justice System

      Mar 27, 2022

      Oh, for the day when those who rape are actually convicted without the complainant being further brutalised by the justice system. I was interested to read about the rape myths researcher Elisabeth McDonald describes (“Bitter justice”, March 19). Fif

      8 min read

    • Article

      Advocates

      Feb 19, 2021

      Advocates
      15 min read

    • Article

      The Age of Outrage

      Dec 17, 2017

      The Age of Outrage
      17 min read

    • Article

      Conversations

      Jan 24, 2021

      Conversations
      4 min read

    • Article

      'Enlightenment Now' Says Human Progress Is Real, Remarkable, And Yet Often Unacknowledged

      Feb 27, 2018

      Steven Pinker marshals data from detailed studies that show the stirring extent of progress human beings have achieved since the 18th century.

      4 min read

    Related categories

    Reviews for Out of the Mountains

    4/5

    22 ratings7 reviews

    What did you think?

    Tap to rate

    Review must be at least 10 words

    • 3/5
      In Out of the Mountains: The Coming Age of the Urban Guerilla author David Kilcullen cogently explains how certain macro-social changes over the course of the next generation will change warfare as we know it. In some respects, Kilcullen is pointing to changes that are already visibly in effect and being grappled with by present-day state actors -- the ability of nongovernmental organizations to use social media to orchestrate targeted action, military or otherwise -- and the overall decline of state-on-state conflict as a primary, let alone exclusive, geopolitical threat to peace. Still, there's no question that Kilcullen's ideas are original ones; they are distinguishable by their peculiar precision in naming the important changes in global dynamics that will impact combat, for example. I mean, as far as I can tell he even creates, or at least actively patronizes, a new word: "littoral" to describe the movement of future populations to coastal areas. Seriously, his thesis on the ultimate importance of "competitive control" in conflicts between governmental and extra-governmental militant organizations is well-articulated. I just left the reading experience in this case feeling disappointed because there were insufficient solutions put forward or connections between areas of positive growth and the changes that will cause these militaristic challenges. I guess I didn't realize how singular was this book's focus. Keep that in mind, dear prospective readers.

      I was very lucky and was able to read a free copy won in a Goodreads Giveaway, for your information.
    • 5/5
      This brief book examines a host of related security issues illustrated by concrete and often familiar examples. Kilcullen's theory of competitive control and his treatment of the impact of information and communications technologies on conflicts involving non-state actors should be widely disseminated, especially among urban planners, strategists, military and police planners, and policy makers of all sorts. I did note that although the author believes armed might predicates all solutions, he offers three examples of groups "bending the curve" to prevent violence, two of them quite purposefully using non-violence and one non-violent and more of a valuable support tool for interveners of all sorts.
    • 4/5
      According to Kilcullen future wars will be asymmetrical, involving non-state actors, littoral (coastal), and urban. Guerilla warfare will move out of the mountains and jungles and into the cities for the simple reason that the majority of the world population lives in cities. A well-written and interesting book that goes beyond military operations. Out of the Mountains was somewhat similar to Robert Kaplan’s The Coming Anarchy, but not so similar as to not deserve reading.I received an electronic copy of this book from the LT Early Reader program in exchange for an honest review.
    • 4/5
      Out of the Mountains: The Coming of Age of the Urban Guerrilla certainly makes a solid case concerning the changing face of warfare. I am just not totally sure that urban warfare is a new idea (Mogadishu, Vietnam?). Kilcullen does present an interesting subject in an educated manner, and his first-hand experience adds credibility to his argument. He states that the ever increasing population is becoming more urbanized, and concentrated in coastal areas; this is a trend that has been taking place for many decades however. His assertion that technology has brought about interconnectedness is the one point that is important to note. When one witnesses the speed in which revolutionaries are able to converge in Egypt through the use of Twitter and Facebook, it becomes apparent that technology indeed has become a weapon of sorts, as well as a quick way to disseminate information. Another point that should be stressed however is the fact that governments have the power over the technology that its citizens depend on. Iran has shown how easy it is to shut down social media and the internet in order to leave revolutionary populations in the dark ages. This book may not offer anything groundbreaking in the way of new information, but it does underline the importance of these demographic trends, and the implications associated with them. It was an enjoyable, fast paced read, filled with Mr. Kilcullen’s valuable insight. I recommend reading Out of the Mountains if you are interested in modern warfare and the current state of population demography.
    • 4/5
      Out of the Mountains claims that the age of rural guerilla warfare is over. We heard this before in the sixties, you might remember. Kilcullen posits that future warfare will be in densely populated and connected urban littoral areas. He means big cities on the coast where everyone is busy tweeting everyone else, but it’s not his style to just come out and say that. Think Karachi, not Afghanistan or the Korean DMZ. Maybe. Sometimes, it seems as if you have two authors here. On the one hand, there is Professor Kilcullen with a theory to promote. Not just a theory, but The Theory of Wars to Come. It isn’t that Kilcullen is wrong about the future nature of some guerrilla wars, but his dismissal of the likelihood of rural guerrilla warfare is absurd. For one thing, your enemy will fight you where you are least prepared to go. If you’ve locked down Karachi, they’ll head for the hills again. Curiously, Kilcullen doesn’t think drones/UAVs will be as useful in urban areas as they are in the countryside. Increasing miniaturization will probably see swarms of drones being used in urban warfare.Besides being an academic, Kilcullen is a combat veteran of several conflicts. The most readable parts of the book are Colonel Kilcullen’s accounts of warfare that he has seen. He has an superb account of Somali militia tactics. His review of the Blackhawk Down battle in Mogadishu and the LeT attack on Mumbai are excellent. These two personae combine to provide an insightful overview of how groups (government, insurgent, criminal, and others) compete to control civilian populations.This is a valuable book, if a bit weighed down by jargon. Unfortunately, its emphasis on one likely future path makes it the sort of book that staff officers latch onto to prepare for a war that never comes.
    • 5/5
      Kilcullen writes a well-paced narrative of potential urban warfare with good case samples from world mega cities based on real world examples. Key stress points will be littoral and the utilization of hybrid and competitive control and connectivity that will override local government’s ability to respond and control. The new warfare will be irregular, urbanized and will need local support and understanding of culture and customs to resolve conflict. The solution will most often not be a classic military maneuver, no tin soldiers on a table map. Ingenuity and adaptability and mobility will be important components. As he says at the end “Troops will have to become hikers again, not campers.” This book is a must have vade mecum for anyone experienced in emergency response networks. It was an exciting read.
    • 4/5
      In “Out of the Mountains,” David Kilcullen, one of the foremost experts on irregular warfare, argues that the future of irregular conflict is not in secluded rural areas, but in populated, urban areas that are rich with resources and people. While many people want to think of this form of combat as something that happens “over there,” the reality is that it is increasingly happening “right here.” Recent conflicts in major cities such as Benghazi, Mumbai, and Kingston show what happens when armed conflict occurs in otherwise peaceful urban areas. Police and military forces are often unprepared to respond to this type of conflict amid otherwise peaceful noncombatants. Successful responses in the future will require partnership and forward thinking, requiring urban planners, military experts, and locals to work together in ways they are not currently.