Non-State Actors and Asymmetric Warfare: A New Paradigm for International Relations

A billiard table metaphorically explains the conduct of states within the international system- sometimes clashing and other times tenuously co-existing. Yet, the international system ultimately remains a construct and pattern for the state actors. Spatially, the dimensions and context of the system fit the needs, requirements, and structure of the states. However, the system is one dimensional and does not account for the realities of the complexities inherent to the post Cold War Era. Currently, the state actor does not maintain an exclusive monopoly in the formation of the playing field. However, non-state actors usurp space and dimensions not defined by the state actor. In addition, the nature of the non-state actor allows for swift, fluid, and dynamic movement in order to capitalize on the emerging multidimensional nature of the international system. I intend to use a host of sources of current literature as well as qualitative processes, in the form of case study, and quantitative methods in order to show: (1) the nature and components of the international system changed after the fall of the Soviet Union and globalization, (2) the threat from non-state actors has increased with the fall of the Soviet Union, and (3) the failed state has become part and parcel of both the new international system and a significant factor in the emergence of non-state actors