A hotel full of vulnerable asylum seekersPeople who have left their countries due to danger and are seeking refuge elsewhere. burned. Shops looted. Roving gangs dragging people of colour out of their cars. Welcome to Britain in 2024.

For many, this is all a terrible shock. For years, British commentators have congratulated themselves for their country's race relations, which seemed much more harmonious than those in the USA or France.

Now some think the UK might be at the forefront of a wave of far-rightA range of ideologies that emphasise social order, racial purity and the elimination of opponents. violence across the western world.

However, no-one is sure how to describe this violence. Some say the only word is "terrorism".

Today, when we hear the word "terrorism", it makes us think of religious or political extremists destroying things and killing people for nihilisticSomebody who does not believe in anything, from religion to moral codes - or a belief that all of these things are bad and need to be destroyed. or irrational reasons.

But terrorism, an idea that goes back many centuries, was originally understood as the use of violent acts to achieve a political aim. For example, in 19th Century Russia, anarchists assassinated political figures and even TsarTitle given to an emperor of Russia before the revolution of 1917. The word was originally used for the Bulgarian monarchs in the 10th Century, but can also be used to refer to anyone with absolute power. Alexander II, hoping that the more scared and miserable the people got, the more likely they were to rise up.¹

Later terrorist campaigns, like those in Algeria and Northern Ireland, targeted the people themselves, but still with a political purpose. Algerians wanted French colonistsMembers of a government-backed group who move to and settle in a new area. Colonists control the area politically. out of their country.² The IRAThe Irish Republican Army, or IRA, was an unofficial military organization made up of people who wanted an end to British rule in Northern Ireland. wanted reunification with the Republic of Ireland.³

They believed that if they imposed a high enough price for maintaining colonial rule on the civilianA person who is not in the armed services or the police force. population, this would ultimately force their governments to accede to their demands.

Even the apparently random IslamistAn advocate of Islamic fundamentalism. Often used in the West to describe those who believe in imposing Sharia (Islamic law) on societies. terror attacks over the last few decades have had a supposed purpose: to force the UK to pull British soldiers out of the Middle EastThe lands around the east of the Mediterranean Sea and Arabia. .⁴

These riots, say some, are the same thing: terrorising the people to put pressure on politicians to change immigration policy.

They argue it is unfair that we only feel comfortable using "terrorist" to describe Muslims, and we should be ready to use it for White extremists as well.

But others claim the far-right attacks are more similar to pogromsOrganised massacres of a particular ethnic groups, such as those of Jewish people in Russia and Eastern Europe in the late 19th and early 20th centuries., riots targeting specific ethnic minorities.

That, they argue, means we should see this as an ethnic conflict. Immigration and multiculturalism, they say, has turned the UK into a patchwork of ethnic groups, some of which are suspicious of each other.

As Britain becomes more diverse, some say, we should expect this kind of unrest to become more common.

However, some historians argue this is not really about multiculturalism. All societies, they say, have ethnic divisions. The divisions that matter simply change over time.

They liken this unrest to the Gordon Riots of 1780, when ProtestantsA group of Christians. Protestants separated from the Roman Catholic Church in the 16th Century. This took place at first in Germany. in London attacked CatholicsFollowers of the Catholic church, a Christian denomination with over a billion followers worldwide, led by the Pope. . At this time the Protestant/Catholic division was the most important ethnic line in the country.

And in 1915, at the height of World War One, LiverpudliansPeople from Liverpool, a city in northern England. attacked their German neighbours.

Today, outside of Northern Ireland, Catholics and Protestants, White Britons and White Germans would all be considered part of the same ethnic group. But back then they were fiercely divided.

Modern multiculturalism, they say, is no different. There is nothing inevitable about conflict between races. Eventually all our current ethnic lines will disappear and new ones will form.

Is this terrorism?

Yes: The far right is inflicting fear and misery on the population so they will put pressure on the government to carry out their political aim of reducing immigration. This is terrorism.

No: This is a different phenomenon, one that we used to recognise all too well in Britain: conflict between ethnic groups. We should expect more of it to come.

Or... There is no reason why this should not be both terrorism and a pogrom. One of the far right's aims is to terrorise Muslims and Black people to force them to leave the country.

FOR YOUR SUMMER READING CHALLENGE CLUE GO TO STEP SIX IN THE SIX STEPS TO DISCOVERY BELOW.