Terrorist attacks are those in which violence is used unlawfully against people or property. They are designed to influence a government or intimidate the public for the purpose of advancing political, religious or ideological causes. This timeline aims to demonstrate how a wide range of political, ideological and religious ideas are exploited by perpetrators of terrorist attacks. These can range from far right-wing/ left-wing groups, religious sects and cults, anarchists, nationalists, insurgent groups and more.
SINCE 9/11 has sought advice from The International Centre for the Study of Radicalisation and Political Violence (ICSR), attached to King’s College London, to ensure the timeline reflects a broad range of terrorist attacks, rather than focussing on particular groups or causes. The ICSR is an independent think tank that specialises in radicalisation, counter-terrorism and political violence.
The timeline highlights some of the major terrorist attacks starting with the Munich Olympic attack – to give a global historical perspective on the many atrocities committed by terrorist organisations and individuals in recent times. The selection of attacks we highlight is not meant to be representative of all terrorist attacks committed in recent history. Instead it is intended as an overview of major events to give a sense of the reasons attacks occur, how they happen and responses from government and the international community.
This resource is aimed at teachers. It serves to support teachers and their nuanced understanding and knowledge of terrorism to enable them to deliver this complex and challenging subject matter with young people. We do not recommend that young people are directed to the timeline without adult supervision and support.
Explore the timeline by clicking on attacks. Think about whether there are any themes that can be drawn between attacks and any similarities or differences. How has terrorism changed over time and in what ways has it stayed the same?
If you would like to explore terrorism further, perhaps for a school project, we can recommend the following website:
START Global Terrorism Database https://www.start.umd.edu/gtd/. This is a comprehensive list of all terrorist events since 1970. There are some insightful infographics on the homepage, but the underlying data is more appropriate for deeper investigations.
