Negotiations with Terrorist Groups

Integral Part of Strategy Negotiations with terrorist groups are a part of a holistic counter terrorism strategy used to encourage organizations to enter the political mainstream rather than turning to terrorism, and to induce rebels holding hostages or demanding ransom to release their victims. Many states may want to avoid negotiations, however, negotiations often become inevitable and have been accepted as a formal strategy even by nations such as the United States and the United Kingdom, who have traditionally been averse to what is generally seen as surrender to the demands of violent rebels. On the other hand, there are governments across the world spanning all continents from Europe, to the Indian subcontinent to Central America who have an unwritten policy of negotiations for tactical purposes as well. Given the proliferation of terror and other forms of violence such as piracy, negotiations have become an essential tool in the counter terror armory of every…