Hostage Diplomacy: A savage practice modern politics cannot stoop down to
By: Griffin Hon Hostage diplomacy is the practice of making diplomatic negotiations over human lives taken captive by the involved parties. This barbaric custom traces back to the ancient world, where it was an essential part of guaranteeing armistice or goodwill between foreign relationships after conflicts.1 In ancient China, hostage diplomacy was used to ensure mutual trust between vassal states and the centralized monarchy. The Romans used it to increase the loyalty of conquered nations, and more recently, it was used by the British during their occupation of India. However, in today's increasingly technologically advanced and interconnected world, it is absurd that such a barbaric practice is still put to use at even the most prominent stages of diplomacy. Foreigners are typically arrested by a government and held on trumped-up charges, which is usually in response to or results in a similar abduction by an opposing nation. In 1979, the US Embassy in Tehran, comprising ...