Countering terrorism: negotiation process as an important stage in anti-terrorist special operations

The article is devoted to problematic issues of hostage-taking and proper negotiation. It examines the basic requirements for a human negotiator, his psychological readiness and negotiation skills in various situations. Various negotiation models are recommended. Hostages and kidnappings remain one of the most dangerous types of terrorist activity [1, p. 391]. It is known that the success of a special operation to free hostages depends on a number of factors, among which, according to experts, negotiations are important. In addition, the role of the negotiator is special, since the result of a special operation largely depends on the complete abandonment of the crime (respectively, saving the lives of both hostages and employees of special units carrying out an anti-terrorist operation to free hostages and neutralize terrorists). On the one hand, on the other hand, the attack that causes the least damage to the aforementioned people. The relevance of developing an integrated system of requirements for a negotiator, including requirements for his personal characteristics and abilities, is beyond doubt. As practice shows, the proof of this thesis is the tendency to promote hostage crimes. The scale of the latter ranges from crimes of a criminal nature (from the «desperation» of people trying to avoid being detained by law enforcement agencies) to large-scale terrorist acts (taking hostages to influence the socio-political situation in their country and abroad). The list of demands for hostages ranges from the possibility of avoiding justice to the presentation of impossible demands, such as the expulsion of a military contingent from any country, region, etc.