Foreign Policy of Armed Non-State Actors

Abstract

Abstract This chapter explores the foreign policy of armed non-state actors (ANSAs) as a new empirical domain for Foreign Policy Analysis (FPA). ANSAs not only challenge state authority in the international system through the use of violence, but there is substantial evidence of ANSAs maintaining foreign relations with other states and non-state actors during both war and peace times. While the study of ANSAs has grown exponentially in the last two decades, the foreign engagement of these actors has rarely been studied from a systematic perspective. This chapter repositions FPA into the study of ANSAs. It argues that adapting an FPA that focuses on decision-making processes and policy outputs can bring a novel understanding to ANSAs’ foreign engagement. Moreover, this endeavour would revitalize FPA by expanding its research agenda to questions of actorness and allow it to move beyond its state-centric confines.