Hostage diplomacy

Hostage diplomacy, also hostage-diplomacy, is the taking of hostages for diplomatic purposes. While common in the ancient world, it is a controversial practice in modern diplomacy. Modern countries regarded as having engaged in hostage diplomacy include China, Turkey, Iran, North Korea, and Russia.

The custom of taking hostages was an integral part of foreign relations in the ancient world. This long history of political and military use indicates that political authorities or generals would legally agree to hand over one or usually several hostages in the custody of the other side, as guarantee of good faith in the observance of obligations. These obligations would be in the form of signing of a peace treaty, in the hands of the victor, or even exchange hostages as mutual assurance in cases such as an armistice.

In ancient China, during the period of Eastern Zhou, vassal states would exchange hostages to ensure mutual trust. Such a hostage was known as zhìzǐ (質子, "hostage son"), who was usually a prince of the ruling house. During the Han dynasty, taking unilateral hostages consisting of zhìzǐ was a standard practice for the centralized monarchy to control smaller yí states. Some Chinese classic texts, however, were against the hostage system. On the famous exchange of hostages between Zhou and Zheng (周鄭交質), the Zuo zhuan criticized the incidence:

If there be not good faith in the heart, hostages are of no use. If parties act with intelligence and with mutual consideration, their actions under the rule of propriety, although there be no exchange of hostages, they cannot be alienated. (信不由中，質無益也，明恕而行，要之以禮，雖無有質，誰能間之)

The Romans were also accustomed to taking the sons of tributary princes and educating them in Rome, thus holding a guarantee for the continued loyalty of the conquered nation and also instilling a possible future ruler with Roman ideology. This practice was also adopted in the early period of the British occupation of India, and by France in relations with Arab nations in North Africa.

In contemporary times, hostage diplomacy is the taking of hostages for diplomatic purposes. It has a negative connotation, associated with criminal hostage-taking, and often manifests as foreigners being arrested on trumped-up charges. The diplomatic hostages are then held as bargaining chips.

In December 2023, four agents of the French DGSE were imprisoned by Burkina Faso authorities upon their arrival in Ouagadougou, the capital of Burkina Faso. Local officials claimed that "they were not sent through the usual diplomatic channels" and that their phones contained "a large amount of information about local contacts in the country."

According to the French press, observers have linked the situation to "the growing influence of Russia's Wagner forces", suggesting that the local authorities were pressured to choose between Russia or France – "but not both", under what was described as an ultimatum. The DGSE acknowledged that "several mistakes were made", but emphasized two key points: first, the military influence of Russia, and second, France's condemnation of the twin coups d’état in Ouagadougou in 2024, directed against the coup instigators by the French President.