Terrorism: Irish Republican Army (IRA) and Russian Revolution

The Russian Revolution contributed to the way terrorism was executed in Ireland, especially by the IRA, and by one man named Michael Collins.  Collins has studied the tactics of Russian revolutionaries from the 1880s with a vision that the historic facts can be used to drive the British from Ireland.  The Irish Republican Army, under the leadership of Collins, used bombs, murder, ambushes, and other terrorist tactics in order to battle the loyalist Protestant police force and the British Army.  After many attacks, the British granted Ireland independence in 1921.  For Collins and his followers it was a victory.  The ideas taken from the Russian revolutionaries of the 1800s have been interpreted and executed by Collins in the modern world.  Some authorities on terrorism believe that “terrorists throughout the twentieth century studied Collins and mimicked his tactics” (White, 2006, p. 25).

Reference

White, J.R. (2006). Terrorism and Homeland Security. (5^th Ed.). Belmont, CA: Thomson-Wadsworth.

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