Non-state actor (NSA)

In political science, non-state actors (NSAs) are influential organizations that are not controlled by or affiliated with a recognized government. Common examples of non-state actors include privately owned financial institutions, corporations and business entities, and non-government organizations (NGOs). Non-state actors also include armed groups such as paramilitary organizations, terrorist organizations, and resistance groups that use guerrilla tactics. Some commentators also consider social movements—especially movements that originate online or rely on internet-based channels for their reach and spread—to be alternative types of non-state actors.

Experts broadly agree that non-state actors have become increasingly prominent and powerful since the latter decades of the twentieth century. The European Commission (EC) acknowledges that non-state actors are significantly impacting the global political, economic, and social landscapes, and are also influencing security environments and security policy in the twenty-first century. Observers also note that perspectives on non-state actors can vary widely, with some segments of the public considering certain actors to be noble or heroic and others to be detrimental or dangerous. In other cases, public attitudes toward specific non-state actors vary depending on each individual’s personal values, socioeconomic standing, political beliefs, and other factors.

Background

A chapter in the 2016 Cambridge University Press book Explaining the History of American Foreign Relations examined the emergence and evolving role of non-state actors during the twentieth century. Its author, noted historian Barbara J. Keys, describes state power as the primary determinant of international affairs as having been under increasing challenge since at least the 1970s. Keys pointed to the flurry of NGO activity in the postwar era of the twentieth century and the emergence of groups such as the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) as major catalysts for the shift.

International NGOs have an operational history dating to at least the mid-nineteenth century, but did not become a high-profile feature of the global political landscape until the founding of the United Nations (UN) at the end of World War II (1939–1945). The UN is credited with introducing the term NGO to the political lexicon as the organization sought to draw distinctions between private groups operating with specific political objectives and similar collaborations between specialized government agencies. By the turn of the twenty-first century, NGOs had evolved into a major feature of the international political environment, with a 2006 Global Policy Forum review describing NGOs as the eighth-largest sector of the global economy.

As described by Keys in Explaining the History of American Foreign Relations, the non-state actors of the twentieth and twenty-first centuries are defined by both their large and ever-growing numbers, and by their increasingly diverse and specialized objectives. In addition to traditional categories including NGOs, corporations, paramilitary organizations, and terrorist networks, Keys also identified nontraditional entities such as organized crime syndicates and drug trafficking cartels, media organizations, diaspora communities, and migrant groups to represent other types of non-state actors. Keys and other commentators also note that some individuals can also be considered non-state actors, usually due to their high public profile, wealth, and/or ability to influence public opinion. Examples of such individuals include Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates and business magnate Elon Musk.

In addition to recognizing the growing influence and authority of non-state actors, political scientists and international relations experts have debated the proper place and function of non-state actors in global society. Some commentators describe NSAs as an important check on state power, especially in situations where significant numbers of citizens have no functional ability to influence the actions and policies of the governments that nominally represent them. Others believe non-state actors pose a distinct and potentially existential threat to the established system of state-to-state relations, and to sovereign nationhood as the international community’s basic structural unit.

Overview

From a global governance perspective, non-state actors are generally described by how they relate to each other and how they interact with traditional international power structures. Observers note that non-state actors derive much of their impact from their ability to influence state actors, or to influence the members of the voting public that elect their government representatives. Experts also note that non-state actors are more accurately defined by what they are not, rather than by what they are. To gain recognition as a non-state actor, an organization, collective, or individual must simply demonstrate an ability to impact political, economic, or social affairs independently of any government assistance, affiliation, or involvement.

In her analysis, Keys identified three main classes of non-state actors: NGOs, multinational corporations, and international intergovernmental organizations (IGOs). In its 2006 review, the Global Policy Forum described the NGO movement as a direct response to globalization: according to this viewpoint, NGOs have effectively come to function as replacements for state-level administrative authority, especially with regard to humanitarian services. Well-known examples of NGO non-state actors include Human Rights Watch (HRW), Amnesty International, and the International Committee of the Red Cross. As the EC notes, major multinational corporations have increasingly taken on an increased role as drivers of social change, particularly since the beginning of the internet age. However, both experts and laypeople remain skeptical of corporate sociopolitical agendas, given corporations’ primary focus on increasing shareholder value through profitability. According to Keys’ assessment, IGOs hold special standing in the non-state actor landscape. While they remained tied to states, many IGOs function with high levels of independence and they often pursue objectives that conflict with those of the state(s) with which they are formally affiliated. Examples of such IGOs include the World Trade Organization (WTO) and the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC).

Armed militant groups that function as non-state actors are usually analyzed as a separate class known as violent non-state actors or armed non-state actors. Violent non-state actors display a wide range of variations; some have a very limited membership, while others involve many thousands or tens of thousands of participants. Some, such as drug cartels, have criminal, profit-motivated objectives while others, such as terrorist organizations, militias, and paramilitary groups, have specific political goals. Many violent non-state actors are based or thrive in areas where government power is weak or limited, such as failed states, unrecognized breakaway regions of established countries, and remote areas where it is not possible or feasible for agents of the state to enforce their authority. In other cases, they represent populist or extremist dissatisfaction with government policy and authority. For example, India hosts a communist non-state actor movement known as the Naxalite-Maoist insurgency, which has been deploying guerrilla warfare tactics against India’s government since 1967.

Some observers also describe large-scale social movements as another type of non-state actor. These movements often feature decentralized structures that reflect their organic growth, development, and spread, which in the contemporary era mainly takes place in online channels. Examples include the #MeToo movement that put a spotlight on the sexual harassment faced by women in the workplace and the gilets jaunes protests that began in France in November 2018.

Certain international media agencies display the defining characteristics of non-state actors, as they operate independently of state governments and have a profound ability to impact public opinion. On an international scale, examples include Reuters, Al-Jazeera, and the Associated Press, among others. Some commentators have argued that domestic media organizations operating and reporting on events in the United States could be viewed as non-state actors, given their ability to curate sociopolitical narratives by choosing what is and what is not reported on, and what editorial perspectives receive favorable coverage.

Topic Today

Keys estimates the number of non-state actors operating in the contemporary world in the millions, though only a relatively small number of those actors have the power and resources to have a meaningful impact on global political affairs. In terms of organizational size, the Bangladash-based anti-poverty organization BRAC International is the largest NGO in the world as of 2024, with more than 107,000 employees worldwide. The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, co-founded by Bill Gates and his former wife Melinda French Gates in 2000, is often cited as the world’s wealthiest NGO; as of 2025, the foundation has a total endowment of approximately $67 billion.

According to some commentators, the increased prevalence and influence of non-state actors reflects growing dissatisfaction among the global public with traditional methods of power distribution. Some people view non-state actors as legitimate and preferable alternatives to state-based governance, believing them to more effectively provide for the security and basic needs of underprivileged population groups. The EC also describes a historic crisis in institutional trust as another reason for the rise of non-state actors as an alternative power structure: referencing a global survey conducted in 2019 by Deloitte, the EC highlights that 73 percent of Millennial and Generation Z poll respondents said that traditional political leaders are failing to drive beneficial change on a global scale while nearly half (45 percent) characterized the information disseminated by politicians as unreliable.

Bibliography

Hall-Jones, Peter. “The Rise and Rise of NGOs.” Global Policy Forum, 2006, archive.globalpolicy.org/component/content/article/176-general/31937.html. Accessed 9 Feb. 2025.

“Impacts of Non-State Actors.” European Commission, 2022, knowledge4policy.ec.europa.eu/foresight/topic/increasing-influence-new-governing-systems/non-state-actors-impacts-all-level-governance‗en. Accessed 9 Feb. 2025.

“Joint Statement by Independent United Nations Human Rights Experts on Human Rights Responsibilities of Armed Non-State Actors.” United Nations, 25 Feb. 2021, www.ohchr.org/en/press-releases/2021/02/joint-statement-independent-united-nations-human-rights-experts-human-rights. Accessed 9 Feb. 2025.

Keys, Barbara J. “Nonstate Actors.” Explaining the History of American Foreign Relations, edited by Frank Costigliola and Michael J. Hogan. Cambridge University Press, 2016, pp. 119–134.

Longley, Robert. “What Are Non-State Actors?” ThoughtCo., 28 July 2022, www.thoughtco.com/non-state-actors-5443123. Accessed 9 Feb. 2025.

"Non-State Actors Playing Greater Roles in Governance and International Affairs." National Intelligence Council, 5 July 2023, www.dni.gov/files/ODNI/documents/assessments/NICM-Non-State-Actors‗23-01637‗05-18-24‗.pdf. Accessed 9 Feb. 2025.

Sloan, Dylan. "Gates Foundation Intends to Spend Its $67 Billion Endowment 'Down to Zero' Within 20 Years of Bill and Melinda's Deaths." Fortune, 24 Jan. 2024, fortune.com/2024/01/25/bill-gates-foundation-annual-letter-elite-universities-chuck-feeney/. Accessed 9 Feb. 2025.