Promotional Information

"This pioneering book provides fascinating case studies that are vital in understanding negotiation strategies in this ever-changing world of terrorism. The authors set the example that one should never assume an end result in hostage negotiations, even with the terrorist extremist. A must read for all hostage negotiators." -- Lt. Jack Cambria, Commanding Officer, NYPD Hostage Negotiation Team "A path breaking contribution to this critical field. The authors' insights and prescriptions--informed by cutting edge negotiation theory and relevant hostage cases--will help save lives in future crises and enhance states' capacity to bring all their resources to the table when dealing with today's terrorists." -- LTC Joe Felter, Director of the Center for Combating Terrorism at the US Military Academy (West Point) "Dolnik and Fitzgerald make a strong empirical case that even terrorists who claim to be more keen on dying than we are on living are rational negotiators. They show that lives can be saved even in seemingly hopeless situations if proper negotiation techniques are applied. The book should be on the shelf of every hostage-negotiator and, even more so, on the shelves of those who reject negotiations with terrorists out of hand." -- Prof. Alex P. Schmid, Director, Centre for the Study of Terrorism and Political Violence, University of St. Andrews. "Through strong and profoundly researched case studies translated into practical guidelines, the authors show us that the pointblank decision 'Not to negotiate with terrorists' should belong to the past. Dolnik and Fitzgerald make very clear what negotiation is about and what the possibilities and advantages of negotiating are--even with new terrorists. This book is a must, not only for negotiators, but definitely for the decision makers as well." -- Chief Inspector Heidi Nieboer, Coordinator CT-negotiation, The Netherlands

About the Author

Adam Dolnik is Director of Research Programs and Senior Fellow of the Centre for Transnational Crime Prevention (CTCP) at the University of Wollongong in Australia. He has served as chief trainer at the International Centre for Political Violence and Terrorism Research in Singapore, and as a researcher at the Weapons of Mass Destruction Terrorism Project at the Monterey Institute of International Studies in California and at the United Nations Terrorism Prevention Branch in Vienna, Austria. Dolnik regularly lectures for various governmental and nongovernmental organizations and agencies around the world, and has conducted field research on terrorist networks in conflict zones such as Afghanistan and the North Caucasus. He is the author of Understanding Terrorist Innovation: Technologies, Tactics, and Global Trends (2007) and contributed to James J. F. Forest's The Making of a Terrorist (Praeger, 2006). Keith M. Fitzgerald is Managing Director of Sea-Change Partners and Director of the Asian Programme on Negotiation and Conflict Management (APNCM) at the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies in Singapore. He is a former Associate of the Harvard Negotiation Project at Harvard Law School and at the Conflict Management Group in Cambridge, Massachusetts, and a former Teaching Fellow at Harvard's John F. Kennedy School of Government. He is also a member of the Council for Emerging National Security Affairs (CENSA), a virtual policy advisory think-tank based in Washington, D.C. Fitzgerald lectures widely on negotiation, conflict management, crisis leadership, and negotiating with terrorists. As a practitioner, he has trained and advised parties and facilitated negotiations in dozens of peace processes, hostage, barricade, and crisis negotiations in over 65 countries worldwide.

Reviews

"A path breaking contribution to this critical field. The authors' insights and prescriptions--informed by cutting edge negotiation theory and relevant hostage cases--will help save lives in future crises and enhance states' capacity to bring all their resources to the table when dealing with today's terrorists."-LTC Joe Felter, Director of the Center for Combating Terrorism at the US Military Academy (West Point)

"Dolnik and Fitzgerald make a strong empirical case that even terrorists who claim to be more keen on dying than we are on living are rational negotiators. They show that lives can be saved even in seemingly hopeless situations if proper negotiation techniques are applied. The book should be on the shelf of every hostage-negotiator and, even more so, on the shelves of those who reject negotiations with terrorists out of hand."-Prof. Alex P. Schmid, Director, Centre for the Study of Terrorism and Political Violence, University of St. Andrews.

"This pioneering book provides fascinating case studies that are vital in understanding negotiation strategies in this ever-changing world of terrorism. The authors set the example that one should never assume an end result in hostage negotiations, even with the terrorist extremist. A must read for all hostage negotiators."-Lt. Jack Cambria, Commanding Officer, NYPD Hostage Negotiation Team

"Through strong and profoundly researched case studies translated into practical guidelines, the authors show us that the pointblank decision 'Not to negotiate with terrorists' should belong to the past. Dolnik and Fitzgerald make very clear what negotiation is about and what the possibilities and advantages of negotiating are--even with new terrorists. This book is a must, not only for negotiators, but definitely for the decision makers as well."-Chief Inspector Heidi Nieboer, Coordinator CT-negotiation, The Netherlands