Under Siege

The military strategy of the siege is as old as human settlement and the city. In the early twentieth century, with changes in the weapons and techniques of war, it was believed that the siege had become obsolete as a military tactic. Yet it is still very much part of conflicts to this very day. Kabul, Homs, Gaza and other cities have the sorrowful privilege of incorporating the experience of being under siege into their recent history.

The old concept of the siege has now acquired new dimensions. Two examples are the deployment of drones in conflict zones like Pakistan, and use of the Internet as a way of overcoming censorship and organising resistance in Syria. These very different instances, together with the paradigmatic case of the permanent siege of Gaza, clearly demonstrate that this strategy is far from obsolete.

As a complementary activity to the “Under Siege” installation, journalists, researchers and activists will come together in four different sessions to discuss present-day cases of wars and analyse new aspects of the contemporary siege.