Numbered Lives. Some Statistical Observations from 77 International Hostage Episodes,

Abstract

Approximately one-fifth of all incidents of international terrorism involve taking hostages -- by taking over embassies or other public buildings or kidnapping individuals. Terrorists seize hostages -- diplomats, corporate executives, tourists, sometimes just anybody handy -- to delibrately heighten the drama of the episode guaranteeing widespread publicity and increasing their leverage by placing human life in the balance. A major portion of The Rand Corporation's continuing research on international terrorism has focused on the problem of hostage situations. This paper, which examines 77 international hostage incidents, was initially included in a report prepared for the Department of State and Department of Defense.

Open PDF

Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Jul 01, 1977
Accession Number
ADA166288

Entities

People

  • Brian Jenkins
  • David Ronfeldt
  • Janera Johnson

Organizations

  • RAND Corporation

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Air Platforms
  • Human Systems
  • Weapons Technologies

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Corporations
  • Dominican Republic
  • Geography
  • Germany
  • Governments
  • Hispanics
  • International Relations
  • Latin America
  • Local Governments
  • Middle East
  • Saudi Arabia
  • Security
  • Terrorism
  • Terrorists
  • Transport Aircraft
  • United States
  • West Germany

Readers

  • Economics
  • Government and Public Administration Law.
  • Political Violence and Terrorism Studies.