The Impact of Non-State Actors on World Politics: A Challenge to Nation-States Muhittin Ataman*

Principal actors of the world politics are nation-states, but they are not the only actors. The international system consists of nation-states, international organizations, and private actors. Even though thousands of international organizations were established during the post-World War II era, they were underestimated by students of international relations. The increasing number of international organizations is parallel to the increasing levels of economic, political, social and cultural transactions between individuals, societies and states. The growth of so many kinds of non-state actors challenges and even weakens the “state-centric ” concept of international politics and replaces it with a “transnational ” system in which relationships are more complex. These organizations changed the international environment (Miller, 1994). The proliferation of non-state actors has recently led some observers of international relations to conclude that states are declining in importance and that non-state actors are gaining status and influence. New theories of international relations such as the “complex interdependence ” of Robert Keohane and Joseph Nye (1989) were formed in order to explain new developments. Kegley and Wittkoph (1995) accurately point out that “as the world grow