Logo: to the web site of Uppsala University

In recent years, increased attention has been drawn to the militarization of law enforcement in several countries, in particular in contexts of urban unrest. Contemporary processes of militarization raise essential questions due to the way in which they normalize the targeting of everyday urban places and populations. In 2005, after the death of two teenagers, outbursts of insurrection flared up across France prompting the government to mobilize the gendarmerie. In 2011, in London, the police shooting of a young man incited the most severe episode of civil unrest in contemporary British history, and the British government declared an ʻall-out war on gangs and gang cultureʼ. In 2014 in Ferguson, United States (U.S.), the shooting of a young man instigated unrest and protest that lasted for months. Local law enforcement responded by mobilizing police that were practically indistinguishable from soldiers, armed with military equipment, body armor, weapons and armored vehicles. The violent outbursts in Paris, London and Ferguson illustrates a disturbing and problematic relationship between citizens and state security systems in the global North. Focusing on two key dimensions; the notion of internal threats and police militarization (and traces of imperial feedback within these two factors) this study sought to contribute to the broader understanding of the increased militarization of urban space in liberal democracies in the global North. The study found that domestic responses display both divergences and similarities and that interurban policy transfer was apparent; that the political landscape or political aspirations may be more or less conducive to militarization; that the structure of domestic law enforcement, legislative boundaries to police authority and legislation may be more or less conducive to militarization; that media scrutiny may change the trajectory of police militarization; that the decentralized governance in the U.S. give primacy to local and state authorities; that techniques or inventions may be imported through ʻlearningʼ and not solely through oneʼs colonial interventionist or imperial experiences and that the relationship between the notion of internal threats and police militarization needs further inquiry.