On hostage taking (a psychoanalytic object)

Abstract Hostage taking is a pervasive phenomenon in human relations, in groups, and in societies. It exists literally, figuratively, and psychologically, and hence is both a phenomenon in the mind and in the outside world. A case example illustrates how group members (including the leader) hold, or may seem to hold, others hostage by their words and actions. By conceptualizing and focusing on a series of interactions as a type of object relationship, that is, a complex idea worthy of attention, the group came to understand and experience hostage taking as a "psychoanalytic object."