Hostage Taking and Barricade as a Terrorist Tactic

Hostage-Taking and KidnappingDespite the high-profile nature of the terrorist hostage taking events, especially the ones that involve mass seizures of hostages, at present they seem to be one of the understudied types of terrorism. Most studies on hostage taking date back to the 1970s and 1980s, reflecting the surge of such attacks at that time, are of practical, rather than academic, nature and focus primarily on the negotiation process to solve hostage crises, often in non-terrorist context. The more recent trends and changes in patterns of terrorist hostage taking have not yet received adequate attention in literature. This is despite the fact that politically (ideologically, religiously) motivated hostage-taking remains one of the most challenging types of terrorist activity and can still make a significant share of terrorist incidents, both at the national and the international levels.  Photo: 2011 A team member breaches the front door of a home, with a battering ram, during…