Negotiating with terrorist kidnappers significantly increases the likelihood of further kidnappings, researchers at the University of Texas at Dallas found in a new study that will be published next month.
UTD professors Todd Sandler and Patrick Brandt looked at data on transnational kidnappings from 2001 to 2013 and found that successful negotiations meant a 66-87 percent increase in the likelihood of further kidnappings.
“We provide strong evidence that terrorist negotiation success results in more hostages being abducted because of terrorists’ anticipated future payoffs, consistent with our conceptual model’s predictions,” the authors noted.
The study also found that casualties suffered by terrorists did not deter future kidnapping attempts, a result the authors chalked up to the “religious fanatacism” of many terrorists. – READ MORE
