Crime and Punishment / 1900-present

Crime and Punishment: Modern Terrorism

Terrorism changed from a local religious plot to a global crime shaped by the internet.

What To Remember

Terrorism uses violence or fear to pressure governments and communities, often for political, nationalist or religious aims.
The Gunpowder Plot, IRA bombing campaigns and Islamist extremist attacks show both continuity and change.
Modern terrorism became more international because of travel, mass media, the internet and more powerful weapons.

From Gunpowder Plot to modern terror

In 1605 Catholic plotters including Robert Catesby and Guy Fawkes tried to blow up Protestant James I and Parliament.

The plot was religious and political: it targeted the centre of government to force change.

A GCSE comparison can argue that the motive and use of fear were similar to modern terrorism, even though the technology and law were different.

IRA and nationalist terrorism

The IRA wanted to end British control in Ireland and used bombings to put pressure on the British state.

Examples include attacks near Parliament in the 1880s and the 1996 Manchester city centre bomb, which caused huge economic damage.

Unlike the Gunpowder Plotters, the IRA was part of a long campaign rather than a single failed plot.

Global and online terrorism

Al-Qaeda and ISIS used extremist religious ideas, international networks and internet propaganda.

Online videos, messaging and recruitment made terrorism harder to police because ideas could spread without face-to-face contact.

Modern attacks also used varied methods, including bombs, shootings, stabbings and vehicles, so policing had to become more specialist.

How did technology change modern terrorism?