The onto-politics of concrete: the weaponisation of urban form in Damascus

This article challenges the anthropocentric bias in critical geopolitics by introducing the concept of the ‘onto-politics of concrete’. Drawing on new materialism, it argues that concrete is not a passive building material but a proactive geopolitical actor. Empirically, the post-conflict urban reconstruction in Damascus is examined by focusing on the Marota City project. Through an analysis of international engineering standards and legal instruments (Decree No. 66 and Law No. 10), the article reveals how high-strength structural concrete materialises demographic weaponisation and spatial exclusion. The mandatory use of advanced concrete in luxury high-rises creates a ‘technopolitical lock-in’ that integrates Damascus into allied financial networks while irreversibly displacing former opposition neighbourhoods like Basatin al-Razi. Consequently, large-scale urban redevelopment is redefined as an infrastructure management apparatus, a mechanism of ‘slow violence’ (Nixon) and ‘necropolitics’ (Mbembe). This article makes four contributions to critical geopolitics: it presents an empirical case study of more-than-human geopolitics in a post-conflict environment; it fills the agency gap in infrastructure studies by prioritising material agency; demonstrates how concrete functions as a transnational governance actor; and outlines a research agenda for future research on infrastructure-induced displacement.