290 Journal of the Spanisch Institute for Strategic Studies N. 3 / 2014 in Beijing in 2008 and in London in 2012, as well as during the football World Cup in Johannesburg in 201013. Coming from a variety of fields such as urban geography or even political sciences, authors like Professor Stephen Graham have been deeply critical of the consequences of this militarisation as regards basic freedoms, as well as the restrictions on movement and the changes in the urban fabric of the cities in question14. Another worrying phenomenon, particularly over the past five years, has been the security measures implemented by various governments in order to pacify those demonstrating against public sector management. The initial reasons for these demonstrations often vary, although usually the focus is on the lack of citizen participation or on the proper functioning of democratic institutions. The authorities, however, use the discourse of emergency or exception to justify some extremely violent reactions. Here we should point out recent cases in cities in Turkey, Brazil, Egypt, Thailand, Venezuela and Ukraine, among others. 2013 was a particularly violent year in this sense, with wide media coverage of what was happening in some national capitals – capitals that were turned into true combat zones. Why do cities acquire a leading role in civilian conflicts? As has already been explained, they are hubs of people, infrastructure, resources and ideas. They have the four key characteristics: density, heterogeneity, compressed inequality and the presence of governmental headquarters15. 2.3. Cities in an interconnected world In connection with the growing importance that large metropolitan areas have acquired, an alternative to the traditional concept of geopolitics has emerged – an alternative where sovereign states are the only protagonists. One area of analysis stands out in this innovative approach: urban geopolitics. Through the process of urbanisation and globalisation, certain cities obtain greater importance in the functioning of the global system than the countries in whose territory they are located. It is said that national borders lose a certain amount of influence and that it is cities with a global vision that are truly important – their agglomerations and flows that are generated Janeiro: A short report, City: Analysis of urban trends, culture, theory, policy, action, vol. 16, nº 5, 2012, p. 563. 13 McMICHAEL, Christopher. Hosting the World, City: Analysis of urban trends, culture, theory, policy, action, vol. 16, nº 5, 2012, p. 524. 14 GRAHAM, op. cit., p. 16. 15 BEALL et.al., op.cit., p. 2.
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