Nongovernmental Actors in International Politics

Abstract

One of the most astonishing current developments in world affairs is the growing effectiveness of no state actors in international politics. Only national governments can be parties to treaties, of course, but no state entities play a role at many other levels. They come in different forms. There are international organizations such as the World Bank and regional interstate organizations like North Atlantic Treaty Organizations (NATO), the European Union, and the Organization of American States, which take part in security, trade, and peace negotiations as participating entities, even while individual member governments pursue their own particular agendas. Substates – that is, provinces, states, and even municipalities – may pursue their own foreign policies declaring nuclear-free zones and offering development assistance, commerce, and cultural exchanges with sister cities. Some individual states – such as California, whose economy is bigger than that of all but a handful of the United States’ major trading partners – have sufficient leverage to foster their own trade deals. Cities from many parts of the world have organized together for the purpose of making an impact on major negotiations or UN Conferences on Habitat, or the Environment and Development.