299 Katarína Svitková Contemporary security from the urban standpoint: Cities in the face of risks and threats and chemical agents44, as well as “common” diseases, tend to spread much more easily in cities, through the constant movement and interaction of people concentrated in a relatively limited space. Industrial disasters (technical faults that lead to accidents, explosions or pollution of the air or water by dangerous agents) or transport disasters (caused by unlawful acts, accidents or natural disasters45) also have more serious consequences if they occur in the urban environment, and therefore need a rapid and efficient response. Maximising urban resilience is absolutely fundamental. Urban resilience is the capacity of a city (the grouping of municipal authorities, elements of the civil protection system, civic organisations and even residents) to anticipate, plan, manage, mitigate and prepare itself for disasters46. The 2011 Strategy underlines the importance of spreading a culture of prevention among the inhabitants of metropolitan areas and the need for cooperation between players47. The importance of cities and of public entities, and of them coming together in their space, is indisputable to be able to face current risks. 4. CONCLUSIONS The changing nature of contemporary conflicts obliges us to develop new models when analysing security. In addition to the many dimensions of security that have appeared over recent decades, the tendency to reconsider the geographical level in the analysis has also appeared. It is true that states are losing their earlier monopoly position, while new players relevant to contemporary security are appearing. At the same time, the importance of cities is increasing - cities that are incredibly globalised and interconnected, and therefore increasingly vulnerable. Alongside traditional national and international security, urban security is becoming more and more important in relation to urbanisation, new technologies, new threats and their implications. This paper offers two fundamentally different interpretations of contemporary security. On the one hand, the criticism of the militarisation of cities and the role of their governments, analysing different types of conflicts that take place in urbanised 44 See section 3.2.2. Transnational terrorism and WMD 45 Spanish Security Strategy, 2011, p. 78. 46 COAFFEE, Jon; David Murakami Wood, Peter Rogers. The Everyday Resilience of the City: How Cities Respond to Terrorism and Disaster. New York: Palgrave Macmillian, 2009, p. 5. 47 Spanish Security Strategy, 2011, p. 76.
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