Boko Haram:  Leader Abubakar Shakau released a video after the kidnapping of the 276 Nigerian school girls, claiming he would release the girls in exchange for Boko Haram prisoners being held by the Nigerian government. Unfortunately, the Nigerian government saw this outcome as only strengthening Boko Haram while making the government look weak. They are a very proud country so this was seen as unacceptable.

Al-Qaeda: In the past, this organization has offered to trade kidnapped hostages for hostages that the government is holding: a prisoner swap. Their method would be to release videos of the hostages begging for the lives and pleading with their government before a member of Al-Qaeda would list their demands.

Kronin discusses the popular notion that democracies claim they do not negotiate with terrorists. However, negotiations do occur at some point and mostly under the radar. Kronin states that “negotiations can facilitate a process of decline but have rarely been the single factor driving an outcome.” A positive aspect of negotiations is that they hold the potential for short-term pauses because it has harder to carry out effective attacks when efforts are focused elsewhere. Additionally, talks can divide and splinter the organization causing internal disintegration and weakening the overall terrorist group.