Classification of NSAs –Non Violent Non State Actors and Violent Non State Actors (VNSAs)

Amnesty International and Al-Qaeda are both, technically, non-state actors — organisations with real influence on world affairs and no allegiance to any single state. Put that way, the label sounds almost useless. It is not, once you draw the one line that actually matters: does this actor pursue its goals through peaceful means, or through force, coercion and illegal activity? That single question is what turns a vague category into two useful ones — and it is exactly what this topic asks you to do.

In two minutes

Non-state actors split into two broad classes on the basis of method: non-violent NSAs, which pursue their goals through lobbying, advocacy and peaceful mobilisation, and violent non-state actors (VNSAs), which resort to force, coercion or illegal activity, posing direct threats to state sovereignty and security.

The rest of this chapter

The full explanation, the cheat sheet, every previous-year question at every mark weight, the quiz and the answer skeletons are part of Political Science – III: International Relations on LexBlox Semester. Sign in to unlock the subject, or read Module 1 of Legal Language and Writing free.