A very particular set of skills: The role of perspective‐taking in hostage diplomacy negotiations

Abstract Hostage diplomacy—detaining foreign nationals for leverage under the pretext of national law—is a growing international security problem. Beyond constituting a violation of international law, hostage diplomacy is challenging to resolve. Target states must deal with aggressive, sovereign perpetrators; handle a fraudulent but plausible legal process; account for numerous stakeholders; and protect their citizens from future harm. How do target‐state negotiators navigate these challenges? This theory‐building article explores perspective‐taking—imagining the world from another's vantage point—as a tool to shape target‐state negotiators' effectiveness in navigating hostage diplomacy. We introduce a model that conceptualizes perspective‐taking on two dimensions. First, negotiators can use multiple‐perspective taking , considering various stakeholders, including interests within their own government, the perpetrator's government, and the hostage's family. Second, across stakeholders, negotiators can take strategic , cultural , emotional , and moral perspectives. We posit that engaging in different forms of perspective‐taking improves target‐state negotiators' ability to identify a domestic win‐set, reach international agreement, and anticipate future crises. Drawing on insights from members of the U.S. hostage‐recovery enterprise, we offer a plausibility probe suggesting that perspective‐taking affects the process and outcomes of negotiations. Perspective‐taking may thus help negotiators better manage power dynamics, navigate informal rules of engagement, alleviate uncertainty, and bolster global security.