Use of kidnapping and extortion as a tool for financing terrorism: the case of the PKK

Beyond Ransom and Political Concessions? Explaining Changes in Insurgents’ Kidnapping Involvement Versus Event-frequency

“…In particular, Tilly (1985, 181) defined state-making activities as those directed internally to produce “durable instruments of surveillance and control within the territory” and emphasized the role of monopolizing the means of coercion and violence in all four types of activities. Kidnapping can be described as a form of coercion by forcefully abducting and detaining human hostages to compel behavior compliance (Gilbert 2020; Koseli et al 2021). These traits of kidnapping make it particularly useful in insurgents’ toolbox of “durable instruments of surveillance and control” – a quasi “state-making” process in Tilly’s terms.…”

“…First, extraction is a key aspect of insurgents’ quasi-state activities that may rely on kidnappings for consistent enforcement. Once insurgents have seized territories, they often try to set up some forms of security-taxation arrangement with the local communities (e.g., extortion rackets, regular taking of “protection” fees) for regular income as a first step in their extra-legal governance schemes (Gilbert 2020; Koseli et al 2021; Mampilly 2015; Rodríguez-Franco 2016). The enforcement of extraction/taxation schemes, however, necessarily relies on coercion when non-compliance occurs.…”

“…While nation-states monopolize and employ legitimized forms of coercion such as police-arrests, judicial detention and imprisonment to ensure the enforcement of taxation schemes to finance state activities (Weber 1946), similar coercive behaviors by insurgents (operating in an extra-legal world) would likely manifest themselves in forms of criminality like kidnappings. For example, the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) in Turkey was found to kidnap those who did not voluntarily pay “money contribution” after requests were “nicely” made – sometimes on hand-written notes stamped with the official PKK seal (Koseli et al 2021). Accordingly, we expect that changes in insurgents' extraction activities may influence their strategic need for using kidnappings.…”

“…There is growing evidence documenting the use of kidnappings by violent political actors for purposes unrelated to negotiation, such as to compel compliance with regular extortion-taxation schemes (Gilbert 2020(Gilbert , 2022Koseli et al 2021), to forcefully recruit soldierssometimes children (Cohen 2013;Dunn 2004;Smith 2015), or to exploit local women for sexual and labor against their will (Cetorelli et al 2017;Kachynova 2015;Zenn and Pearson 2014). This body of evidence points to a possible link between insurgents' kidnappings and their assertion of coercive control over the local population in a state-like status.…”

Combating terrorist financing in Switzerland in the light of current changes in Afghanistan

“…Moreover, terrorists make use of a variety of illegal sources of income. In the Basque Country, ETA has resorted to kidnappings and ransom demands (Koseli et al , 2021). In West Africa, al-Qaeda kidnapped foreigners and extorted ransoms.…”