WHAT IS A NONSTATE ACTOR

1
WHAT IS A NON-STATE ACTOR?
2
ARE WE SURE WHAT A STATE ACTOR IS?

• Modern conception
  
• A Government
  (An inter-governmental
  institution, esp. if it has its own legal base)
  
  Military forces maintained by a government
  Police forces maintained by a government
  Civilians employed by a government
  (Local government authorities)

3
BUT.....

• Historical complications partial/unclear
  statehood, armies used to be commercially
  recruited, some officials worked as farmers
• Ethical complications state authorities not
  necessarily recognized, legitimate, or
  generally good
• Practical complications what is called a
  government may not act like one or be the real
  one in a weak state

4
PRIVATIZATION ETC

• A state authority may sell a function that it
  formerly controlled - privatization
• It may share the costs with private funders but
  keep a share in control PPP
• It may purchase a service from a non-state
  supplier rather than doing it itself
  outsourcing
• It may delegate tasks ad hoc

5
TYPES OF NON-STATE ACTORS

• Supranational organizations
• (Multinational) business corporations
• Terrorist and criminal networks
• Factions in an internal conflict
• (Multinational) NGOs
• (Multinational) civil society networks
• Ordinary people you and me

6
TYPICAL NON-STATE FEATURES

• Self-motivating and self-resourcing
• Free choice of structure or no structure
• (often) transnational operation/impact
  -information access
  -information flows
  
  -equipmenttechnology access
  -cross-border
  movement
  -network building and franchising

7
TYPICAL PROBLEMS OF CONTROL

• National and international laws do not bite
  unless drafted to apply to such actors (and to
  take account of their characteristics)
• Problems of direct coercion, deterrence or
  defeat
• Problems of direct negotiationagreement
• Problems of tracking and controlling resource
  flows (multinationals, money laundering,
  terrorist finance, gun running etc)

8
ON THE OTHER HAND....

• Non-state security activity can
  - Make up for weaknesses of
  non-functioning state, empower individuals
  
  - Defend against a
  dysfunctional state - Support
  and supplement the state esp in newer security
  dimensions ( subsidiarity)
  - Find transnational solutions for
  transnational/global processes (modernity,
  flexibility)
  - Share and ease
  resource burdens

9
GOOD OR BAD?

• What is our instinctive classification of
  - Multinationals?
  - Business in
  general?
  - Terrorist groups and networks?
  - Criminals and their
  networks? -
  National and international NGOS?
  - National and international civil society
  networks a) religious, b) other?
  - Individuals playing a security role?

10
TESTCASE A A CIVIL WAR

• Possible roles of multinational business
• Possible roles of local business
• Possible roles for terrorists
• Possible roles for various kinds of criminals
• Possible roles for non-state armed groups
• Possible roles for NGOs, externalnational
• Possible roles for civil society groups
• Possible roles for familiesindividuals

11
TESTCASE B A BIG NATURAL DISASTER

• Roles for multinationals?
• Roles for other business?
• Roles for terrorists?
• Roles for criminals?
• Roles for NGOs?
• Roles for civil society groups?
• Roles for individuals?