Description
‘Neutralize’ is a word regularly used to describe the action of armed forces overcoming their adversary in a conflict. Yet this action – whether in an actual war or in the context of some form of repression – can occur anywhere: its very principle involves a polymorphous and changing theatre of operations, unlimited both de jure and de facto.
However, the idea emerged that this theatre had recurring forms and that there therefore must be a kind of ideal scene of neutralization and of the exercise of force. It ensues that one could build, for training purposes, a spatial model able to effectively reproduce the setting or the décor of the most frequently conducted actions. While the countryside and undeveloped areas used to – for the most part – do the job, the omnipresence of urban reality (including in modern-day conflict) has led to the creation of cities or fragments of cities that are like life-size models of the theatre of operations: the ideal city, one may say, from the perspective of the police or the army.
