Strategy of Deception

A trenchant critique of new techniques of waging war, and its reduction to images on a screen

Written with his characteristic flair, Virilio’s latest book is a trenchant denunciation of the Kosovo warv in which he successfully unites theory with a riveting study of the conflict. Tearing aside the veil of hypocrisy in which the USA and its allies wrapped the war, Virilio demonstrates that the nature of the bombing was set by strategic rather than ethical considerations.

Beneath the humanitarian rhetoric, Virilio sees a sinister innovation in the methods of waging war: territorial space is being replaced by orbital space in which a system of global telesurveillance is linked to the destructive power of bombers and missiles. Governments, the military and the media are becoming part of a seamless and self-justifying process linked by new information and arms technologies.

Passionate and political, Strategy of Deception is a vital examination not only of the war in Yugoslavia but also what Virilio calls our “fin-de-siécle infantilization” in which the reality of battle is reduced to flickering images on a screen.“One of the most original thinkers of our time.”—Libération

“A refreshing antidote to the ‘global village’ mantra of Net gurus, Virilio writes in the subversive tradition of Michel Foucault and Jean Baudrillard.”—Publishers Weekly

“Virilio is an impressive commentator on the conditioning power of the mass media ... he has become essential reading for anyone trying to make sense of America’s out-of-control war of prevention.”—GuardianPaul Virilio trained as an artist in stained glass, working with Braque and Matisse, as well as studying philosophy at the Sorbonne. In 1975 he was made director of the Ecole spéciale d’architecture in Paris. He retired from teaching in 1998 and now works with private organizations on projects to house the homeless in Paris. He has written many books, including War and Cinema, Open Sky, and Ground Zero.