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11 J. Police Crisis Negot. 1 (2011)

handle is hein.journals/wpcn11 and id is 1 raw text is: journal ofPolice Crisis Negotiations, 11:1-19, 2011 Routledge Copyright 0 Taylor & Francis Group, LLC Taylor& Francis Group ISSN: 1533-2586 print / 1533-2594 online DOI: 10.1080/15332586.2011.523300 Responding to Threats: A Case Study of Power and Influence in a Hostage Negotiation Event JUSTIN P. BOROWSKY Central Oregon Community College, Bend, Oregon, USA One of the defining characteristics of hostage negotiations is the struggle for control that occurs during the negotiation process. In bostage negotiation events both parties attempt to exert power in order to influence the actions of the other party. This case study re- veals that the negotiator and the bostage taker adopt very different strategies in order to accomplish these goals. For the bostage taker, attempts to exert power within the interaction often take the form of threats of barming the bostage. Alternatively, the negotiator exerts power by utilizing various discursive negotiation strategies in or- der to develop rapport and conversationalflexibility. This case study identifies several strategies employed by the negotiator in order to diffuse the bostage taker's threats and demands, while simultane- ously exerting power in the interaction. KEYWORDS Hostage negotiation, crisis negotiation, threat, power REVIEW OF THE LITERATURE Prior to the 1970s, law enforcement officials mainly relied on the use of intimidation and threats of force to resolve hostage situations (Rogan & Hammer, 2002). This approach, commonly known as the Contending Model, is characterized by the demonstration of superior firepower coupled with ma- nipulation of the physical environment. For instance, the Contending Model prescribed tactics such as cutting off the power supply to the building where the hostage taker had barricaded him- or herself and assembling a heavily armed SWAT Team in an area that was visible to the hostage taker. The demonstration of overwhelming firepower was enacted in order to convince Address correspondence to Justin P. Borowsky, MCIS, Central Oregon Community Col- lege, 2600 NW College Way, Bend, OR 97701. E-mail: jborowsky@cocc.edu 1