Non-state Actors and Geopolitical Rivalry

Terrorism, organized crime, and corruption remain rampant at a moment when the world is grappling with geopolitical rivalry. Events of the past year are a stark reminder of the outsized impact non-state actors can have on global security and regional stability. In November, the Houthi militia began firing on commercial vessels in the Red Sea, disrupting global shipping lines. In March, a branch of the Islamic State attacked a Moscow concert hall killing more than 100 people. Over the past year, gangs in Haiti have come to control ports and roads around the country’s main airport, prompting the United Nations Security Council to approve a multinational police mission to the country in October 2023. At the same time, organizations and networks involved in illicit activity can become inextricably linked to national economies, governance structures, and security arrangements, affecting civilian populations even more directly than official bureaucracies.

How should policymakers in the United States and around the world think about the strategic and tactical challenges posed by the most powerful groups and underground networks, and how can we better understand how these entities operate? As the United States and its partners turn attention, fiscal resources, and international collaborations towards competition with countries like China and Russia, how can countries cooperate to reduce the risks non-state actors pose to global security? What policy innovations are needed to combat these threats? And what role can actors from industry to civil society play in reducing these risks in a way that improves life for people whose livelihoods depend on these organizations?

Join the Carnegie Endowment for a discussion of how societies can manage the risks non-state actors pose as countries navigate challenges involving security, governance, and the well-being of their populations with Daniel Byman, Mariano-Florentino (Tino) Cuéllar, Beatriz Magaloni, and moderator Rachel Kleinfeld.