page_title: Violent non-state actor
section_title: Description
hierarchical_section_title: Violent non-state actor / Description
caption_attribution_description: Mara Salvatrucha Graffiti
context_page_description: In international relations, violent non-state actors, also known as non-state armed actors or non-state armed groups, are individuals and groups that are wholly or partly independent of state governments and which threaten or use violence to achieve their goals.
  VNSAs vary widely in their goals, size, and methods. They may include narcotics cartels, popular liberation movements, religious and ideological organizations, corporations, self-defence militia, and paramilitary groups established by state governments to further their interests.
  While some VNSAs oppose governments, others are allied to them. Some VNSAs are organized as paramilitary groups, adopting methods and structure similar to those of state armed forces. Others may be informally structured and use violence in other ways, such as kidnapping, using improvised explosive devices, or hacking into computer systems.
context_section_description: Thomas, Kiser, and Casebeer asserted in 2005 that "VNSA play a prominent, often destabilizing role in nearly every humanitarian and political crisis faced by the international community". As a new type of actor in international relations, VNSAs represent a departure from the traditional Westphalian sovereignty system of states in two ways: by providing an alternative to state governance; and by challenging the state's monopoly of violence.
  Phil Williams stated in 2008 that in the 21st century, they "have become a pervasive challenge to nation-states". Williams argues that VNSAs develop out of poor state governance but also contribute to the further undermining of governance by the state. He explains that when weak states are "unable to create or maintain the loyalty and allegiance of their populations", "individuals and groups typically revert to or develop alternative patterns of affiliation". This causes the family, tribe, clan or other group to become "the main reference points for political action, often in opposition to the state". According to Williams, globalization has "not only... challenged individual state capacity to manage economic affairs, it has also provided facilitators and force multipliers for VNSAs". Transnational flows of arms, for example, are no longer under the exclusive surveillance of states. Globalization helps VNSAs develop transnational social capital and alliances as well as funding opportunities.
  The term has been used in several papers published by the US military.
caption: MS-13 gang graffiti.
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