Should We Talk to Terrorists?
Should governments negotiate with terrorist groups? If so, when is the right time? How can policymakers understand various factors, such as group leadership, public support and splintering, that have vital impacts on the outcome of negotiating with terrorist groups? These questions are asked more and more often by policymakers and politicians the world over.
Should governments negotiate with terrorist groups? If so, when is the right time? How can policymakers understand various factors, such as group leadership, public support and splintering, that have vital impacts on the outcome of negotiating with terrorist groups? These questions are asked more and more often by policymakers and politicians the world over.
The conversation was framed around Dr. Audrey Kurth Cronin’s recent USIP Special Report, "When Should We Talk to Terrorists?" The findings of this report are drawn from a larger USIP-supported multiyear research project on how terrorist campaigns meet their demise, which culminated in Dr. Cronin’s book, "How Terrorism Ends: Understanding the Decline and Demise of Terrorist Campaigns."
-
Audrey Kurth Cronin, PanelistProfessor, National Defense University
-
Peter Bergen, PanelistCo-Director of the Counterterrorism Strategy Initiative, New America Foundation
-
Anthony Wanis St.-John, PanelistAssistant Professor, School of International Service, American UniversityAdviser to the Academy for International Conflict Management and Peacebuilding, U.S. Institute of Peace
-
I. William Zartman, PanelistProfessor Emeritus, School of Advanced International Studes, Johns Hopkins University
-
Paul R. Pillar, ModeratorDirector of Graduate Studies, Center for Peace and Security Studies, Georgetown University
-
Andrew Blum, ChairSenior Program Officer, Grant Program, U.S. Institute of Peace