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WHAT IS A NON-STATE ACTOR?

WHAT IS A NON-STATE ACTOR?. 22 January 2010. ARE WE SURE WHAT A STATE ACTOR IS?. Modern conception: A Government (An inter-governmental institution, esp. if it has its own legal base)

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WHAT IS A NON-STATE ACTOR?

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  1. WHAT IS A NON-STATE ACTOR? 22 January 2010

  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, civilian officials etc • (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 – Public-Private Partnership • 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 -equipment+technology 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 in applying direct coercion, deterrence or ‘defeat’ • Problems of direct negotiation+agreement • 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 • Possibleroles of multinationalbusiness • Possibleroles of localbusiness • Possibleroles for terrorists • Possibleroles for variouskinds of criminals • Possibleroles for non-statearmedgroups • Possibleroles for NGOs, external+national • Possibleroles for civilsocietygroups • Possibleroles for families+individuals

  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?’

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