The Prisoner’s Dilemma: Hostage Diplomacy 101

Be sure to visit the Irregular Warfare Initiative website to see all of the new articles, podcast episodes, and other content the IWI team is producing! Why do states engage in hostage taking to advance their interests? What incentives are in place that make them choose hostage taking over other, more traditional instruments of power? How do conventional international relations concepts like deterrence apply to the unique challenge of hostage taking? This episode examines these questions and more, as our hosts are joined for a fascinating discussion by Ambassador Roger D. Carstens, the special presidential envoy for hostage affairs at the US Department of State, and Dr. Dani Gilbert, an assistant professor of political science at Northwestern University whose research explores the causes and consequences of hostage taking and hostage recovery. Intro music: "Unsilenced" by Ketsa Outro music: "Launch" by Ketsa CC BY-NC-ND 4.0