PRACTICE QUESTIONS| PART 3|| INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS|

A non-state actor (NSA) are organizations and/or individuals that are not affiliated with, directed by, or funded by any government.

The interests, structure, and influence of NSAs vary widely. For example, among NSAs are non-profit organizations, labor unions, non-governmental organizations, banks, corporations, media organizations, business magnates, people’s liberation movements, lobby groups, religious groups, aid agencies, and violent non-state actors such as paramilitary forces.

Types

Some common and influential classes of NSAs are listed here in alphabetical order:

Business magnates are individuals who command large wealth, and who often seek to influence national and international affairs. Examples are Warren Buffett and Elon Musk.

Corporations, which include multinational corporations (MNCs), are companies authorized to act as single entities (legally as persons) and are recognized as such in law. They include very large businesses operating transnationally, such as The Coca-Cola Company, McDonald’s, General Motors, Adidas, Huawei, Renault, Samsung, Nestlé and Toyota.

Decentralized autonomous organizations (DAO)s, sometimes known as decentralized autonomous corporations (DACs), operate according to rules encoded as computer programs called smart contracts.[2]: 229  The crypto-currency Bitcoin is an example of a DAO which has grown to become economically influential.

International media agencies, which are also usually corporations, report on the social and political situation in countries worldwide, and may therefore be highly influential as NSAs. Examples of such agencies are AFP, EFE, Reuters, AP, RIA Novosti and Xinhua.

Non-governmental organizations (NGOs), which include international non-governmental organizations (INGOs), are usually nonprofit organizations seeking to effect change in humanitarian, educational, ecological, healthcare, public policy, social, human rights, environmental, and other areas. Examples of NGOs are Greenpeace, Red Cross/Red Crescent, Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch and WWF. Goodwill ambassadors or humanitarian aid workers involved with INGO missions abroad may also be considered as non-state actors.

People’s movements are mass movements which become influential with size and longevity. Examples include the movements arising during the Arab Spring of 2011.

Religious groups commonly engage in political affairs at an international level. For example, the Quakers, as a historic peace church, operate offices at the United Nations.[3][4] Another example is the Taliban, which is a religious group as well as a violent non-state actor.

Transnational diaspora communities are ethnic or national communities that commonly seek to bring social and political change to their originating countries and their adoptive countries. The Israeli diaspora is an example.

Unincorporated associations, secret societies and civic organizations unknown to or unrecognized by the state or government may be considered non-state actors.

Unrepresented nations and peoples include many indigenous peoples and Fourth World societies.

Violent non-state actors (VNSA)s are armed groups, including groups such as ISIS or criminal organizations, for example drug cartels.

World citizens may be considered non-state actors if they are active in movements or social causes active outside their own country.