Nonstate Actors Essay ⋆ Political Science Essay Examples ⋆ EssayEmpire

Over the last two decades of the twentieth century and the first decade of the twenty-first century, the concept of nonstate actors has become an indispensable part of the terminology of political science. The diffusion of finance and technology that has been fuelled by globalization has enabled nonstate actors to claim functions traditionally performed by nation-states. Both policy networks and policy arrangements have come to consider nonstate organizations as an intrinsic part of international relations. Given the empirical evidence, nonstate actors are increasingly involved in international affairs in various significant ways. Since they are part of the political and institutional arrangements, nonstate actors, negatively or positively, influence political discourse, agenda setting, law making, and decision making. In some cases, their information and expertise helps nation-states struggling with problems. The impact made by nonstate actors depends on several factors, such as the political or legal framework of which they are part, the organizational structures they have built, their network interactions, and their actual presence.

Nonstate actors are nonsovereign entities that exercise significant economic, political, or social power and influence at national, and in some cases international, levels. Nonstate actors come in various shapes and forms that operate transnationally. There is no consensus on the members of this category. Nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) are the most well-known nonstate actors. NGOs are private, self-governing, voluntary, nonprofit, and task or interest-oriented advocacy organizations. Within those broad parameters, there is a huge degree of diversity in terms of unifying principles, independence from government, operating procedures, sources of funding, and international reach and size. NGOs can implement projects, provide services, defend or promote specific causes, and seek to influence policy. Particularly after the end of the cold war, the growing emphasis on human security has underlined the social and humanitarian issues in which many NGOs have unique expertise.

In addition to NGOs, other nonstate actors include multinational corporations; international media; armed groups, including rebel opposition forces, militias, and warlords; terrorist organizations; criminal organizations; religious groups; and transnational diasporas. Most types of nonstate actors would be considered part of civil society, although some function within the context of the international economy.

Multinational corporations, one of the most influential categories of nonstate actors, are enterprises that manage production or deliver services in at least two countries. The traditional multinational is a private company headquartered in one country and with subsidiaries in others, all operating in accordance with a coordinated global strategy. Today, a growing number of multinationals based in emerging market countries such as China, India, Russia, Brazil, Mexico, and Turkey have become influential in their own right.

The concept of the nonstate actor is not always positive, given the existence of many armed nonstate actors, for example, rebel opposition forces, militias and warlords, and terrorist organizations. They operate without state control and are involved transnationally in activities against state actors. The prevalence of these groups in armed conflicts has added layers of complexity to traditional methods of conflict management and resolution. The diversification of violence and prevalence of multiple armed groups complicates traditional conflict management and resolution and poses a significant challenge for international security governance more generally. Most contemporary conflicts are intrastate, involving by definition at least one nonstate actor, and many are fought without state involvement between two or more armed groups. Nevertheless, international laws and norms governing the use of force are still understood primarily on the state level. Hence, the existence of nonstate actors at the local and international levels has further complicated international relations.

The proliferation of nonstate actors in the post–cold war Era has challenged the traditional nation-state–based international system, nation-state borders, and claims to sovereignty. The relationship between nation-states and nonstate actors has paved the way for the reconsideration of traditional international relations theories such as neorealism, which views the state as the main unit of analysis and regards nonstate actors as being negligible in the anarchic international system. In reality, NGOs participate in international decision making and implementation processes and affect policy outcomes; the activities of transnational criminal or terrorist groups trigger international responses; multinational companies take positions and lobby regarding global issues. The significance of nonstate actors is seen not only in the ways they affect international relations but also in the ways they are institutionalized in political, legal, and policy terms. Today, nonstate actors are part of the institutional structure of international politics and policy making.

Bibliography:

Arts, Bas, Math Noortmann, and Bob Reinalda, eds. Non-State Actors in International Relations. Aldershot, U.K.: Ashgate, 2001.
Risse-Kappen, Thomas, ed. Bringing Transnational Relations Back In: NonState Actors, Domestic Structures and International Institutions. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1995.

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