Non-state Actors Research Articles

Transnational co-production of technology: Sino-Soviet cooperation in the construction of the Wuhan Yangtze River Bridge, 1950–1957

ABSTRACT Using the construction of the Wuhan Yangtze River Bridge as a case study, this paper explores transnational co-production of technology between the Soviet Union and China in the 1950s. Focusing on the invention of the non-caisson method, it argues that non-state actors played an important role in the process, because successful construction of the bridge could not be separated from reciprocal wills and long-term face-to-face interactions between Chinese and Soviet engineers. Moreover, by examining Chinese workers’ contribution, this paper enriches the idea of hybrid technology, including not only the mingling of national identities in the process of knowledge making but also the combining of knowledge of both elites and masses. As a core project of China’s First-Five-Year Plan, the cooperation boosted China’s confidence in technological development and the Chinese Communist Party started to re-evaluate the Soviet technical aid, which to some extent influenced China’s science and technology policies afterwards.

Scientific and Technological Advances as Current Challenges to the Biological Weapons Non-Proliferation Regime

The recent advances in biological sciences and biotechnology have resulted in new knowledge and capabilities that challenge existing understandings of biological threats and biological weapons (BW). The purpose of the article is to evaluate scientific and engineering decisions that pose potential challenges to the biological weapons non-proliferation regime and can reduce barriers to their development, production and use. Materials and methods. The scientific articles available through the PubMed, Google Scholar and Russian Electronic Library databases were used in the research. The method of analysis is the description. The results of the research. The success of biotechnology provides impetus for experimentation with biological weapons, particularly by non-state actors such as terrorist organizations and extremist groups. Transformative changes are occurring in areas not directly related to microbiology. However, the potential for their malicious use is no less of a concern than the development, production and stockpiling of biological weapons. The transformation of the concept of «biological threat» is traced. It becomes more complex and includes elements from other fields outside of biotechnology and the traditional understanding of biological weapons. In addition to biotechnology and synthetic biology, such technologies that are directly related to the BTWC issue, may include: additive manufacturing based on 3D printing technologies; big data analysis and artificial intelligence technologies; nanotechnology and materials science, as well as biological research automation and robotics. Conclusion. Many dual-use technologies have received close attention from the scientific community and international experts, but this does not always contribute to an accurate and balanced understanding of their potential in the context of BTWC issues. The convergence of new and emerging disciplines is creating new areas of scientific knowledge that address the problem of non-proliferation of biological weapons, which requires the expert community to make a balanced assessment from the point of view of both dual use and the risk of excessive prohibition and negative impact on further scientific and technological progress.

Gendered gaps to tuberculosis prevention and care in Kenya: a political economy analysis study

BackgroundTuberculosis (TB) remains a public health concern in Kenya despite the massive global efforts towards ending TB. The impediments to TB prevention and care efforts include poor health systems, resource...

Micro Level Analysis on Health Insurance Enrolment among Selected Women in Ghana: Barriers and Predictors

Background: The enrolment onto a health insurance scheme is a viable means of improving access and utilisation of healthcare services which play critical roles in efforts to attain universal health coverage in most countries for which Ghana is inclusive. However, at the micro level, there appears to be inequitable patterns of health insurance enrolment based on gender, and contextual factors. To account for these disparities, the Micro Indicator Cluster Survey (MICS) 2017/2018 was conducted to investigate, inter alia, women enrolment on national health insurance services, and the reasons behind non-enrolment of women in the reproductive ages on health insurance schemes. Thus, this paper explores the barriers and predictors of health insurance enrolment in Ghana using data obtained from a nationality representative micro indicator cluster survey. Methods: Based on health insurance enrolment trajectories, this paper comprehensively investigates the predictors of health insurance enrolment at the micro level among 9,533 women between the ages of 15 years to 49 years in Ghana using data from MICS 2017/2018 which was made available for public access in 2020. Specific items relating to health insurance enrolment which is the independent variable, and contextual and compositions factors were selected in line with relevant literature as predictors to conduct an ordinal logistic regression analysis. Findings: The findings revealed that lack of money or funds, perceived irrelevance of the scheme, relative far proximity to registration centres, and lack of confidence in the operation of health insurance services accounted for the major barriers to non-enrolment. In all, the parameters under wealth index quintile were the most significant predictors of health insurance enrolment in this study. The poorest wealth quintile exhibited the highest odd ratio of 4.655 with lower bound value of 3.873 and an upper bound of 5.595 at p value of <0.001. In sum, the higher odd ratios and statistically significant values in wealth quintile index, education, pregnancy status, and regional location demonstrate the spatial-demographic disparities in enrolment among respondents which lead to exclusion of the most vulnerable in health insurance coverage, and thus, limit the realization of its objective to provide pre-payment arrangement to cater for healthcare cost and reduce financial burden among individuals and households. Conclusion: It is concluded that at the micro level, access to health insurance services is likely to be impeded by system level factors and compositional attributes. There is the need for extensive subscriber segmentation and targeting to help address the challenges of people who are in most need of health insurance services. The national health insurance system should strengthen its pro-poor enrolment incentives and build synergies to derive support from relevant government and non-state actors to improve education and livelihood opportunities for women across the country.

Para-diplomacy's Role in Central Asian Transboundary Water Cooperation: An Assessment of Subnational Actors

This paper aims at identifying how Para diplomacy influences the Transboundary Water Cooperation in Central Asia with a special reference to the non-state and sub-state actors. This research aims at finding out what para diplomacy is, why it is done, the benefits and the risks associated with doing para diplomacy especially in managing the shared water resources. The research method used in the study combines the scenario mapping, typology analysis, and comparative case studies in order to obtain data from the Central Asian context. Thus, the reason for the findings is to increase an understanding of the Para diplomacy enhancement of transboundary water security.

INFORMATION WARFARE AND TWITTER: A NEXUS OF INDIAN SHADOW NETWORKS ON BALOCHISTAN ISSUE

Owing to its several fault lines, Pakistan is one of the target countries of Fifth-Generation Hybrid Warfare (5GHW) attacks. These attacks are conducted by adversaries, both external and internal, more readily targeting the Balochistan province of the country, which is inhabited by a plethora of non-state actors and violent non-state actors. External adversarial powers seek to create shadow organisations to subvert the state through information operations. The paperaims to study shadow organisations subverting the state through information operations. It seeks to identify the shadow organisations in the digital security environment of Pakistan, followed by the exploration of the tactics employed by these organisations to disseminate content effectively, identify the themes used by these organisations in their textual content, and check the level of bot activity in the digital presence of these shadow organisations. The paper's findingsplaced the shadow organisationsin the hashtag Balochistan Is Not Pakistan dataset. It identified the employment of the tactics (hashtags, mentions, retweets, bot activity) connecting shadow organisations, state-recognized terrorist organisations, and external adversarial countries, i.e., India. Furthermore, the themes identified in the dataset identified the frequency of employment, solidifying the assumption that the end goal is state subversion.

Rural electrification efforts from the perspective of ASEAN Energy Awards

Access to reliable and affordable electricity remains a cornerstone of sustainable development and renewable energy in the ASEAN region. While all member states strive for universal electrification, progress varies significantly, influenced by diverse national landscapes and approaches. This research sheds light on rural electrification efforts through the lens of ASEAN Energy Awards, uncovering stakeholder roles, quantifying impacts, and promoting cross-learning among member states. Through analysis of project submissions and winners from 2010 to 2023 (N = 62), the study delves into three key areas. First, there has been a shift beyond traditional government-led initiatives. While state-owned enterprises, government agencies, and international development agencies remain active, the emergence of universities, private enterprises, non-profit organisations, and even communities themselves signals the growing importance of bottom-up approaches. The analysis delves into the prevalence of technologies like solar PV (photovoltaics) and micro-hydropower, revealing trends in installed capacity and cost-effectiveness (the dominance of projects below US$100,000). The study identifies consistent rural electrification efforts across countries like Indonesia, Malaysia, Myanmar, and Thailand, which recorded the most project submissions. Findings reveal a dynamic landscape of rural electrification efforts in ASEAN. The rising presence of non-state actors and community-driven initiatives presents opportunities for increased private sector contributions and bottom-up solutions.

Biosecurity Assessments for Emerging Transdisciplinary Biotechnologies: Revisiting Biodefense in an Age of Synthetic Biology.

Rapid advances in biotechnologies and transdisciplinary research are enhancing the ability to perform full-scale engineering of biology, contributing to worldwide efforts to create bioengineered plants, medicines, and commodities, which promise sustainability and innovative properties. This rapidly evolving biotechnology landscape is prompting focused scrutiny on biosecurity frameworks in place to mitigate harmful exploitation of biotechnology by state and non-state actors. Concerns about biosafety and biosecurity of engineering biology research have existed for decades as views about how advances in this and associated fields might provide new capabilities to malicious actors. This article considers biosecurity concerns using examples of research advances in engineering biology. The authors explore risk assessment and mitigation of transdisciplinary biotechnology research and development, using the framework developed in the National Academies' study on Biodefense in an Age of Synthetic Biology. The Synthetic Biology Assessment Framework focuses on risks of using advanced approaches and technologies to enhance or create novel pathogens and toxins. The field of engineering biology continues to advance at a pace that challenges current risk assessment frameworks. This framework likely is sufficient to assess new science and technology advances affecting conventional biological agents. However, the risk assessment framework may have limited applicability for technologies that are not usable with conventional biological agents and result in economic or broader national security concerns. Finally, the vast majority of discourse has been focused primarily on risks rather than benefits, and analyzing both in future evaluations is critical to balancing scientific progress with risk reduction.

Theory of world politics: assessing the potential for transfer

In international studies, there are many borrowings from other disciplines at the level of metaphors, concepts, etc. In this regard, the question is raised about a possible reverse transfer, i.e. from the sphere of world politics to other scientific spheres, including not only socio-humanitarian, but also the natural sciences. The article analyzes a successful example of such a transfer given by R. Axelrod in the early 2000s, as well as subsequent attempts to theoretically validate the conditions for export from the field of international studies to other areas. Two approaches have been identified. Within the framework of the first approach, it is proposed to create an interdisciplinary theory, since international relations are able to integrate various humanitarian and social disciplines. The second approach allows for a “pluralistic” and “blurred” subject field of the theory of international relations, in which various theoretical and methodological lines can coexist and enter into discussion with each other (societal multiplicity), rather than remain isolated. It provides opportunities for its “export” to other scientific fields. A critical analysis of these approaches allows us to conclude that in both the first and second cases, the political focus of international research is lost. The article substantiates the subject area of world politics as the exertion of political influence in the international arena by state and non-state actors. Based on this, the authors of the article put forward a third direction. The essence of it is that the search for the possibility of exporting from international research to other scientific fields does not lie in the creation of an interdisciplinary theory, and not in the formation of a “blurred” subject field that ensures “societal multiplicity”, but in the similarity of the situations under consideration. The authors show that the degree of similarity of situations depends on a number of factors, including the behavior of actors/objects being in conditions that are relatively the same. Examples are given by comparing situations and theoretical concepts of international relations and world politics with situations and concepts in other scientific fields - meteorology, medicine, ethology. At the same time, the place of the “political” in other spheres is occupied by the dominant object/factor.

Retaliating against cyber-attacks: a decision-taking framework for policy-makers and enforcers of international and cybersecurity law

Cyber warfare is a reality taking on increasing importance. Governments, state-sponsored actors, and non-state sponsored actors have used cyber-attacks as the “weapon of choice” due to their specific characteristics. Cyber-attacks can be highly targeted and focused, even tailored to a specific unit or system, providing limited to no physical destruction (unlike a cruise missile) and potentially resulting in no loss of life. There are several incident response frameworks and approaches that an organization can implement to enhance its security posture. Usually, these will address specific adverse events such as computer security incidents, which in turn are limited in scope and coverage, typically within an organization. Nations have made limited effort in confronting severe cyber-attacks targeting and/or threatening them, as well as in preventing these attacks from being launched. In this work, we identify and discuss a decision-taking framework that may allow state actors to adopt new options against severe cyber-attacks, not always complying with international norms. Such options are neither encouraged nor supported. On the contrary, we discuss them so that the international community is made aware of such potential frameworks. More specifically, by defining clear thresholds, roles, and responsibilities, by introducing a structured chain of command, and by identifying the potential of certain actions, policy makers can recognize an extended decision space that may lead to unpredictable deterrence options against cyber-attacks.

Golden Triangle to Bangladesh: Regional Analysis of ATS Sources, Trafficking Routes and Kingpin Involved, and Role of Regional Organizations

Background: Beyond traditional routes to East and Southeast Asia, Excessive ceaseless flow of ATS (yaba/crystal meth) and synthetic drugs in South Asia especially Bangladesh are the new dimension of drugs which have little study of its sources, routes, prices and the kingpin involved to ATS trafficking and production. Security forces have been taking stringent action for the non-conventional security threats including ‘war on drug’. Large information and reasoning gaps are seen which influenced to find the source of ATS, its trafficking routes, its prices and role played in Bangladesh and the region. The research aimed to identify the major sources, trafficking routes of ATS, prices level & economic impact, Kingpin involved and to explore its different regional implications for national and regional level decisions.Methods: A long array of national and international reports, publications etc. reviewed and analyzed. 300 face to face interview survey to drug law enforcement officers, drug dealers and drug consumers with many more qualitative & quantitative interviews.Results: ATS (yaba/crystal meth) problem for Bangladesh and most South Asian countries are intertwined with Golden Triangle drug problems. Potential new drug production & trafficking prone regions such as ‘Black Triangle’ have been becoming sources of ATS for South, East and Southeast Asia. Myanmar non-state ethnic actors, Myanmar military affiliated militias & BGFs, Chinese-Myanmar-India-Bangladesh etc. transnational syndicates involved and per piece of yaba has become as minimum as less than USD $1 dollar.Conclusion: Golden Triangle, especially Myanmar Shan State with expanding trafficking region, anarchic situations and military policies are continue breeding drugs that linked to different routes and actors, changing environment changes sources, routes and actors.

Role of Non-State Actors in National Security

Globalization has elevated the role of non-state actors (NSAs) in national security. This article underscores the need to acknowledge the influence of NSAs on international relations and national security. It discusses the role of NSAs only in democratic states with limited government, excluding the totalitarian and authoritarian states, as they blur the private-public distinction or restrict NSAs. The paper follows a qualitative methodology depending on the scholarly credibility of sources, recency, and relevance. The sources include expert interviews as primary data sources and relevant academic literature and case studies as secondary data sources. It employs thematic analysis for examining the data, enabling a nuanced investigation of the evolving influence of NSAs. The theoretical foundation distinguishes two primary NSA categories: private-sector corporate actors and non-governmental organizations (NGOs), including global social movements (GSMs). Likewise, it investigates how NSAs extend their influence beyond conventional territorial boundaries such as cyber threats, climate threats, and global policy making. The findings highlight the critical role of non-state actors in shaping contemporary national security paradigms through various case studies, offering insights for policymakers.

Not Just ‘Somewhere South of Sovereignty and East of Equality’: Indian Strategizing in the Age of Transnational Solidarities

South Asia witnessed a number of transnational solidarities, some of which it was home to, others that drew the region into their ambit. Articulations of national identity, evident in Bangladesh and Sri Lanka, marked shifting definitions of the politico-cultural community in South Asia. Concurrently, there was a congealing of ideological connections that straddled continents such as the leftist solidarity Afro-Asianism epitomized. How did social imaginaries such as these, variously imbued with nationalist and internationalist ethos, influence India’s self-image? What role did sub-diplomatic solidarities forged by non-state actors such as activists and intellectuals play? In what ways had subnational activism contributed to some of these contested fraternities? Such questions were moot to India’s assessment of its own state capacity in the 1980s and beyond. The article takes as its focus two critical sites of postcolonial India’s international relations: transnational solidarity networks and domestic politics. In doing so, it attempts to offer a granular analysis of the ‘imagined collectivities’ India espoused and the multiplicity of agendas these stood for and which it helped shape.

Recognition of Governments and the Case of the Taliban

Abstract This article examines the implications of the largely unexplored, yet very insightful, practice of a broad and divergent group of States concerning recognition of the Taliban, in order to contribute to the understanding of various aspects of the question of recognition of governments. Disregarding their long-standing policy of not making express statements on recognition of governments, many States put forward certain conditions for the Taliban to meet to gain recognition. Based on the arbitrary and idiosyncratic nature of these conditions, the article shows the difficulty of explaining recognition decisions by generally applicable criteria, and further establishes that the Taliban case constitutes another setback for the emerging doctrine of democratic legitimacy. Illustrating a wide range of possibilities of engagement with an unrecognised government, the article also shows that treatment, or acknowledgement, and recognition of an entity as government are two different phenomena, and demonstrates the possibility for “recognition” to be stripped of any legal or practical meaning in a given case. The article also shows that the claim that, regardless of being recognised, a general de facto government is entitled to exercise the State’s international rights and obligations does not seem well established in international law. Though some States accepted the Taliban as such, part of the international community rather alluded that the Taliban bore certain international obligations as a non-State actor, rather than on behalf of Afghanistan. The article also examines the status of unrecognised de facto governments before domestic laws, and demonstrates, among others, States’ flexibility towards such governments’ right to access State property abroad, despite the contrary national practices in the past.

Globalization and Nation State

Globalization has introduced new and diverse challenges for the nation state not only in terms of managing rapid economic and cultural integration, but also with respect to governance and decision-making. Globalization, as a concept, contradicts the traditional understanding of the primacy of the nation-state in the world order and introduces a possibility for parallel existence of various non-state actors such as Intergovernmental organizations (IGOs) and International non-governmental organizations (INGOs). In recent decades, the growth of transnational groups - both political activist groups and dangerous terrorist organizations - also shows the ways in which modern technologies and globalization can challenge and possibly undermine the state’s ability to protect its borders and pursue its goals. In other words, the sovereign state has been continuously challenged, both internally and externally. Therefore, globalization has a serious influence on the concept of sovereignty, which is a basic element upon which the existence of the nation-state depends. The present paper examines how globalization has impacted nation states on various fronts.

Bayesian spatio-temporal statistical modeling of violent-related fatality in western and central Africa

Fatality arising from violent events is a critical public health problem in Africa. Although numerous studies on crime and violent events have been conducted, adequate attention has not been given to the distribution of fatalities arising from these events. This study unraveled the spatio-temporal pattern of fatality from violent events in Western and Central Africa. A two-component spatio-temporal zero-inflated model on a continuous spatial domain within a Bayesian framework was adopted. The stochastic partial differential equation was used to quantify the continuous pattern and make projections in unsampled regions. Fatality data from 1997 to 2021 was obtained from the Armed Conflict Location and Event Data Project (ACLED). Findings from the result revealed a spatial and temporal divide in the prevalence of fatality in the study region. Between the years 1997 and 2010, fatality from violence was most prevalent in Central Africa, whereas in more recent years, it was most prevalent in Western Africa. The posterior predictive probabilities of fatality occurrence due to violent events in Nigeria and Cameroon were highest and above 0.6, and the probability of more than one death per violent event is highest in Angola and Chad with probability 0.2. On violent event type, findings showed that suicide bombs had the highest likelihood of fatality occurrence whereas the event of violent non-state actors overtaking territory had the highest impact on the likelihood of multiple fatality counts. Among the armed actors who participated in violent events, armed religious groups were linked to the highest likelihood of fatality occurrence whereas Military forces were linked to the highest likelihood of multiple fatality counts per event. The finding also revealed that there is a higher likelihood of multiple fatalities in the Winter temperate season. These findings could be used for planning and policy design geared towards mitigating fatality and providing a guide towards resource distribution to support the affected communities.

State and non-state actors’ contribution to economic stability or instability of State-Owned Entities: a case study of South African Airways

The state and non-state actors have always influenced the issues arising in society, particularly concerning state-owned entities (SOEs), economic stability, and instability. From having an influence within their national borders to the international scale, these actors are very pivotal agents that often seek to bring justice and better ordinary individuals' lives. Non-state actors such as multinational corporations and civil society organizations are some of those on the frontlines of fighting for economic emancipation, especially in less developed states. Yet, this is not always the case; in some instances, they can be noted as villains who would bring about the injustices themselves. Although their influence cuts across many sectors of society, the paper sought to discuss the contribution of these two actors, the state and the non-state actor, to the economic stability and/or instability of state-owned entities. From this premise, the paper adopted a qualitative method and case study approach for South African Airways (SAA) to understand the contribution of state and non-state entities to the financial stability or instability of SAA. Thus, the findings suggest that SOEs are affected by various direct and indirect interventions by both state and non-state actors, especially in their economic ambitions, which provide stability or instability in the entity. Hence, the paper concludes that the economic stability or instability of SOEs such as SAA is largely affected by the intervention of both state and non-state actors.

Agents of platform governance: Analyzing U.S. civil society's role in contesting online content moderation

This paper examines the role of civil society in shaping content moderation governance arrangements in the United States. Drawing on prior research that recognizes the importance of civil society in shaping policy, this article analyzes the experiences of civil society practitioners engaged in content moderation activism. Based on in-depth original interviews with civil society practitioners, I demonstrate how civil society's activity in this space aligns with known regulatory standard-setting process competencies and suggest advocacy work benefits from the power of coalition lobbying and social capital. Moreover, I highlight the sense of frustration from some practitioners that they are not compensated by firms for their monitoring and reporting work that improves platforms' products, and I offer preliminary reasons for why practitioners contest moderation norms. The paper's insights contribute to the study of platform governance by illuminating informal mechanisms utilized by civil society, which holds broader implications for understanding the dynamics of non-state actors in shaping online platforms and their policies.

The World's Maritime Axis, A Critical Analysis

The dynamics of threats and challenges facing Indonesia in the Southeast Asia and Pacific region continue to develop. Among them is the rivalry between two great powers competing for hegemony over the Asia Pacific accompanied by local and regional threats carried out by non-state actors. This research is an analysis aimed at explaining the basic concept of a strategy introduced by President Jokowi, namely the World Maritime Axis, then testing the extent to which this concept is able to overcome existing threats and challenges, so whether this strategy is worthy of being maintained or not. The research was carried out through literature studies until February 2024. The results show that the World Maritime Axis strategy is worth continuing, and even needs to be supported by the DPR to strengthen its legality in the form of a law.

The Legal Status and Targeting of Hacker Groups in the Russia-Ukraine Cyber Conflict

Abstract The armed conflict between Russia and Ukraine has been characterized by a considerable number of cyber operations by States and non-State actors in support to either party to the conflict. One year since the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the ‘Russia-Ukraine cyber conflict’ offers valuable insights for estimating the effectiveness of International Humanitarian Law in regulating the status and the conduct of individuals engaging in cyberspace operations during wartime. By discussing the status of hackers groups and individuals who have conducted cyber operations in support of Ukraine, this Article claims that the relevance of the concept of combatancy is diminished in the cyber domain, and that the notion of direct participation in hostilities must be adapted to the specific features of cyberspace. Furthermore, the article focuses on the issues relating to the targeting of individual who directly participate in hostilities by conducting cyber operations in support of Ukraine. By doing so, the Article argues that cyber direct participants place themselves at an increased risk of being attacked, even though the Russian armed forces are limited in their targeting decisions by the principles of proportionality and precaution.