Meaning of nonstate actor | Babel Free

Definitions

An organization or other group whose behavior significantly affects political, economic, or strategic interactions between countries or major events within a country, but that is not itself a recognized country or a representative of a recognized country.

Examples

“Nobody's particularly optimistic that the Afghan civil war that began almost a decade ago is going to end any time soon. […] [T]his is a new type of war against a non-state actor, in which the definitions, strategies and yardsticks of all previous conflicts no longer apply.”

““It wasn't until after Sept. 11 that most of us realized that for the first time in human history,” Mr. Blacker said, “a nonstate actor, a group of religious extremists at the very bottom of the international system, had the capability to inflict devastating damage on the very pinnacle of the international system.””

“The threats represented by violent nonstate actors are as old as the earliest states. Bandits, raiders, and pirates have plagued civilized peoples around the globe for millennia.”

“[T]he Global Terrorism Database (GTD) […] defines terrorism as “the threatened or actual use of illegal force and violence by a non-state actor to attain a political, economic, religious, or social goal through fear, coercion, or intimidation.””

CEFR level