ABSTRACT
A recent development in terrorism has shown that terrorists are capable and willing to use the maritime domain to orchestrate their attacks, benefiting from porous coastlines, weak port security management, vast areas, corrupt personnel, containerized shipping, etc. Places of absent or limited protection, so-called soft targets, have lately attracted terrorist organizations intending to inflict mass casualties and gain broad media coverage. A re-emergence of the strategic position and dynamic shaping of the Arctic stemming from climate change, encourages regional economic and knowledge developments. However, illicit actors are on the hunt for new opportunities, and the Artic states need to perform proper threat assessments to proactively build efficient human, material, partnership, and information capacities to address evolving security challenges in the region. This chapter examines the realm of maritime terrorism applied to the evolving Arctic region with a focus on soft targets. The objective is to encourage policymakers and practitioners to include the topic on their agendas, security measures, prevention efforts, mitigation plans, and capacity building.
