Middle East Research and Information Project

Critical Coverage of the Middle East Since 1971

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Craig Larkin

Craig Larkin is an associate professor (Reader) in Middle East politics and Peace and Conflict studies at King’s College London.

The Struggle for the City—Urban Recovery and Dispossession in Mosul and Damascus — Volunteers salvage and clean up the debris and destruction in the Bab al-Saray area of the old city of Mosul, Iraq, December 2017. Fed up with waiting for assistance from the Iraqi authorities, traders rebuilt their shattered businesses themselves. Ahmad Muwafaq/AFP via Getty Images

The Struggle for the City—Urban Recovery and Dispossession in Mosul and Damascus

A walk through the old city of Mosul, Iraq, reveals an urban landscape still scarred by the violence of war and transfigured by ongoing reconstruction. Rubble-lined narrow streets give way to half-rebuilt homes and scaffolded storefronts, as merchants return and daily life resumes amid the heavy hum of generators and

Craig Larkin • 14 min read