Conversations with the enemy: the dilemma of negotiating with terrorists/ Kim Jixian

Argues that it is possible, within limits, for governments to engage in negotiations with terrorist organisations. Whether such negotiations occur directly or indirectly, negotiation has a crucial role to play in securing lasting peace and to reject negotiations categorically from the outset effectively denies governments of a valuable vehicle that could be used to save lives and resolve terrorist incidents peacefully. The first part of the article briefly discuss the official non-negotiation policy that many governments have adopted and the underlying rationale for it. The second part of the article goes on to evaluate these policy justifications to examine if they hold up to scrutiny, and further consider what role negotiations might play in managing a terrorist incident. This concludes by further considering how negotiation might be useful as a strategy to resolve the Middle East conflict, as an example of an intractable terrorist-related problem.

TERRORISM