Module Directory

While political science scholarship has studied non-state actors more extensively, the world of violent non-state actors has only recently received attention and interest among academics and policy circles. Given the rise of groups such as the Islamic State and Al-Qaeda, the focus on violent non-state actors has become more and more important.

This module focuses on the political science literature on violent non-state actors. The module examines why non-state actors resort to violence and crime, what tactics and strategies they use, how they fund their existence, how they undermine the state and what can be done to counter the instability they cause.
The module will examine the objectives of these organizations, what their mobilization strategies are and what often constitutes their support base. The module with give a thorough overview of not only the world of violent non-state actors but also the political, economic, geographical and regional environments which help to explain their strength.

The aims of this module are:

• To introduce students to violent non-state actors such as warlords, terrorist and insurgent groups, paramilitary groups, private security companies, rebel and youth organizations, gangs and organized crime.


• To present the basic theoretical and empirical findings in the literature on violent non-state actors and define the key variables, in order to better understand how to conduct research in this area.


• To focus on non-state actors in West and East Africa, Latin America, the Levant, Southeast Asia and Central Asia.

Students will understand what factors are conducive to the emergence of violent non-state actors, the regional dynamics that explain their persistence and why they are so challenging to the modern state.

By the end of the module, students will be expected to be able to:

1. Think critically about the emergence of violent non-state actors within a broad historical and comparative perspective;


2. Develop a more comprehensive understanding and familiarity of what violent non-state actors are and the main theoretical and empirical contributions of this new field;


3. Identify how violent non-state actors pose challenges to the state and how the state is able to respond to these challenges.


4. Identify the political, historical and socio-economic roots of violent non-state actors;


5. Communicate clear and well-researched observations about the substantive questions raised in the module.

This module will be delivered via:

• 2 hours per week.