War in the Smartphone Age: Conflict, Connectivity and the Crises at Our Fingertips

by Matthew Ford

Thanks to smartphones, war is everywhere, all the time. Anyone can view, analyse and comment on photos, videos or other warzone media, far from the frontlines. Where did this technology come from? And what does it mean for the future of war?

This book explains why you see what you do on your phone. It asks how these devices shape our knowledge, conduct and representation of war in the 2020s. It shows why the smartphone is indispensable in peace and wartime, with a profound impact on modern conflict. Every smartphone is a potential lines blur between war and daily life, and conflict becomes a shared digital experience. Global tech giants orchestrate connectivity, displacing state-controlled narratives. Through social media, smartphones become powerful tools amplifying violence and shaping war’s legitimacy. Apps democratise conflict, enabling anyone to identify and attack perceived enemies. As the Ukraine war has shown, this new reality involves complex, unevenly distributed infrastructures, merging civilian communication with military targeting.

With war accelerating beyond our comprehension, militaries have raced to exploit and adapt to the smartphone age. As technology distorts our understanding of conflict, even while offering the hope of progress, Matthew Ford explores critical questions about today’s hyper-connected battlefield.

275 pages, Kindle Edition

Published June 26, 2025

Reviews

[Shane Caldwell · Rating 5 out of 5]

Matthew Ford’s War in the Age of the Smartphone is an essential companion for anyone seeking to understand the changing nature of conflict in the digital age. Just as World War II expanded modern conflict into “total war,” where civilians inevitably became legitimate targets, Ford drives home the reality that in the smartphone era nobody is a non-participant. If you are not a soldier by proxy, you are an intelligence officer by proxy. If you are neither, you are a propaganda agent for a side you might not even realize you are serving. This truth—if we can even speak of such a thing in the digital age—only becomes more unsettling as technology accelerates.

The great virtue of this book lies in its explanatory power. Digital anthropology as a field often lags behind the technology it seeks to examine. War in the Age of the Smartphone, while sophisticated enough to serve as a guide for those in the field, also functions as a compelling vehicle for the general public. Ford grounds his analysis in real-world examples that many readers will recognize and relate to.

If you want to understand why modern war looks the way it does on your screen—and how it will continue to evolve—this book is essential reading.

[Jeff · Rating 5 out of 5]

Matthew Ford's War in the Smartphone Age is a timely account of how the technology billions of people use everyday is fundamentally changing warfare with far-reaching effects for states and societies in the 21st century. The stakes are higher than people realize. Many militaries remain mired in old mindsets about what the battlefield looks like without realizing that cellphones are demolishing battle lines and distinctions between who is a combatant and who is a civilian along with them. This change also upends over a century of the Law of Armed Conflict and International Humanitarian Law, which means states either have to radically revise the law or scrap it altogether. Cellphones do not only allow militaries to target people in the traditional sense of an attack or strike, but also through information operations meant to shape people's minds.

Ford neatly divides and explains these and other questions in three sections of two chapters each. Written in approachable prose with engaging anecdotes, War in the Smartphone Age is an easy but thought-provoking read for academic, military, and lay audiences alike. It is certainly a foundational book for anyone thinking or writing about the future of warfare, and with it, human affairs.

[Guy Yeomans · Rating 5 out of 5]

I both enjoyed & was happy to be challenged by 'War in the Smartphone Age'. It builds on Ford's previous co-written book 'Radical War' but firmly and comprehensively evolves those early ideas, especially those centred around media and civilian participatory action (whether active and understood or passive and unaware).

He both solidifies these themes, while now extending his framing and offering original insights through a compelling and contemporary analysis of the interplay between personal/commercial technology stacks and data, human agency (collective & individual), fluid military practice and assertive power. Ford makes clear that it's no longer a question of if these dynamics and capabilities are in play in modern-day warfare - they are, increasingly so, and being ever-further entrenched into our defence structures - but prompts us to start thinking about their potential rapid further future evolution.

Early in the book, Ford alludes to the idea that 'we are all now potential sensors in the kill chain', that uncomfortable assertion has stayed with me. Recommended.

[Miglemigloj · Rating 5 out of 5]

I very much enjoyed reading this book. It provides some fascinating links between media and war studies. It also provides examples of how the military developed highly complex surveillance practices, using advanced digital and civilian technologies for military purposes in the Iraq War, Israel-Hamas war and Russia’s war in Ukraine, for example. While the writing style is accessible, the overall story is not simple. I think the author very well manages to demonstrate how telecommunications 'stack' (a term also used by the author, and, to my knowledge - popularised by B. Bratton) and widely available smartphones have both enabled and overwhelmed military tactics and strategies. And the future is uncertain. The book almost begs for a sequel, perhaps a few years later, as one considers the potential (or the overpromising stories, we will see) of AI and automation in war, and it would be interesting to read the author's view on and experiences of these developments in the military realm as well.

[Pierre Anderberg · Rating 4 out of 5]

War in the Smartphone Age explains how conflict has shifted from battlefields to our smartphones. Also, war is no longer a declared event but more of a constant background noise, always connected, always on.

The book argues that power now lies in influence rather than firepower and that civilians have become participants of war. Anyone with a phone can be part of the kill chain. It also discusses how we now experience permanent, low-level conflict that blurs the line between truth and manipulation.

We know that war has always changed people experiencing it. So my question is: If war now lives in our phones, what happens to the individual behind the screen?

[Ray Packham · Rating 5 out of 5]

Having studied International Security under Professor Ford, I found War in the Smartphone Age a sharp and timely exploration of how modern conflict is shaped through our phones as much as on the battlefield. Ford shows how propaganda, hoaxes, and targeted information now rival conventional weapons in their impact, linking big-picture security issues to real-world consequences. With my own background in digital forensics & policing and security, the book resonated strongly — a concise, essential read for anyone seeking to understand how war and power operate in the digital era.

[Tania]

I had been waiting for this book for several months and bought it on the day of its release. I really wanted to like it, but I gave up after reading about 20%. I was bored. Maybe it was just not "my topic", or it was the wrong book at the wrong time for me, so I gave the benefit of the doubt and did not put any rating on it.

[Daniel J. · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent book. Well-written and approachable. This work, by an established defence academic, addresses the role that smartphones play in warfare, not just the physical instruments, but also social media and apps. It fills a useful gap, because smartphones are ubiquitous in society and thus ubiquitous in conflicts, yet largely unaddressed by other books.

[Brian Drohan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Highly readable, insightful analysis of the future of warfare. An outstanding book that needs to be on the bookshelves of all scholars and practitioners in international relations, strategy, and security!

[Marianne P.]

A sharp and timely analysis of how smartphones are reshaping the boundaries of war. The concept of participative warfare is especially compelling, making it an essential read for anyone working at the intersection of conflict and technology.

[Adam Svendsen · Rating 4 out of 5]

In this clear and timely engaging book, as an established analyst of ‘small arms’ Matthew Ford places his focus well on better scrutinising the pivotable role of our always-ready-at-hand smartphone devices in the wider contexts of contemporary war.

All participants are increasingly empowered, and are thereby much more directly and centrally involved in what unfolds next. Due to this sheer high volume and level of connection, the individual is soon intimately included along with their closely associated activities to vulnerabilities, such as the apps they use and the data they generate. There is much to consider further here and with this book Ford's insights raise a very necessary discussion.