The Military-Urban Nexus: the political-economy of real-estate, development, and the military in Beer-Sheva metropolis

ABSTRACT The paper explores the political-economy of militarization and urbanization in the development of Beer-Sheva metropolis, Israel. The region currently undergoes a wave of governmental and private investments, led by the relocation of army bases, military and cyber industries, and infrastructural development. The prevalent analysis relates this transformation to national-territorial goals. It is argued here that underlying these processes is the neo-liberal economy and the resulting post-2008 inflation of land and housing prices. These highly determine the pace and shape of military projects, what is framed as ‘speculative militarism.’ Further, the defence apparatus is found to be a crucial facilitator of regional development and of the land and labour markets, in the face of the social discontent and the thrust of construction that the inflation generates. These aspects are conceptualized as constituting a ‘Military-Urban Nexus.’