Studying Delta Force or Death Squads: The Politics of Hostage Negotiations

Abstract

Is the study of terrorism too narrowly focused? Does it miss the broader context of the behavior it studies? Are researchers asking the right questions? We can explore these issues by examining one form of terrorism—hostage-taking. The response to these incidents is usually hostage negotiation. This technique is very successful because of the ability of the police or military to “contain and negotiate.” Most experts in the field have focused on the negotiations within such operations. If we examine the containment aspect of these sieges we can see that the decision to contain, and not to assault, the hostage-taker is the key to the success of most negotiations. However, this decision is a political decision. And, unless the role of politics is examined in the study of terrorism social scientists will forever be tied to conservative policies and practices. As a result, they will continue to miss the other, and more important, form of terrorism—state terrorism.