Research on Non-State Actors
Learn to research armed groups, multinational corporations, and transnational movements that operate outside state structures but shape international outcomes.
Why Non-State Actors Belong in Your Research
The United Nations is a system built by and for states, but the crises it addresses increasingly involve actors that are not states. Armed groups control territory in Syria, Yemen, Libya, Mali, and the eastern DRC. Multinational corporations like Shell, ExxonMobil, and Glencore have economic footprints larger than many UN member states. Transnational criminal networks move billions in drugs, weapons, and human trafficking across borders. Terrorist organizations, private military companies, and transnational activist movements all shape the security and development landscape that UN committees debate.
MUN delegates who only research state positions miss half the picture. When the Security Council debates the situation in Yemen, the Houthi movement (Ansar Allah) is a central actor even though it has no UN seat. When a committee discusses corporate accountability and human rights, the behavior of specific multinational corporations is the subject under discussion. When DISEC debates small arms and light weapons, the demand side — armed groups and criminal networks — is as important as the supply side of state-to-state transfers.
Researching non-state actors is harder than researching states because the data is less systematic, the actors are less transparent, and the information landscape includes more propaganda and misinformation. But the payoff is enormous: delegates who can speak knowledgeably about specific non-state actors demonstrate a depth of understanding that impresses chairs and intimidates less-prepared opponents.
