Why do terrorists target the energy industry? A review of kidnapping, violence and attacks against energy infrastructure

Abstract

Recent cases show that energy facilities or workers have increasingly become victims of terrorist attacks. Why do terrorists target the energy industry? While the existing literature suggests that terrorists rarely target energy transmission infrastructure, this article argues that energy may induce terrorism in a broader way, and offers a detailed explanation of why energy is a significant terrorist target. This article also presents data on terrorist incidents to show that energy is the most important non-human terrorist target from 1970 to 2018, the economic impact of terrorist attacks on energy facilities is large, and oil producing countries are vulnerable to terrorist kidnappings.