In the days following the historic prisoner swap on August 1 that saw Canadian-American Paul Whelan and another 15 people released from Russian prison, there are growing questions about how democracies can counter the rising tactic of hostage diplomacy.

Russia continues to hold Westerners hostage, and the use of hostage-taking and arbitrary detention by authoritarian regimes to advance their own ends is a phenomenon that will only expand unless the West takes a stronger stand.