Subproject A01 — Securitisation by Holding Hostages in the Early Modern Period
second funding stage (2018-2021)
In the second funding phase, the subproject examines security-related situations in which hostage holding and hostage taking were used in the Early Modern Era in the context of war, reprisals and occupation. The first question asked is why and under what conditions warring actors resorted precisely to this repertoire in order to react to insecurity that arose from the threat of violent resistance or the lack of access after the troops had withdrawn. Second, heuristics among the collectives affected by hostage-holding and their resulting handling of the situation are examined. The fundamental criterion is the aspect of representation: Thus it is possible to differentiate the cases in which hostages were held or taken on behalf of a city or a territory in order to secure contractually agreed contribution payments from the capture of individuals by smaller war departments for the purpose of extorting ransom..
