Some common and influential classes of NSAs are listed here in alphabetical order: The proliferation of non-state actors since the Cold War ended has been one of the factors leading to the Cobweb Paradigm in international politics.
Additionally, armed non-state actors have recently been held accountable to international law with the United Nations Security Council’s decision to allow the self-defense principle to be applied against an NSA.
After the terrorist attacks of 9/11, the US and the UN debated whether the right of self-defense, as protected by the UN Charter's Article 51, was applicable to armed non-state actors, in this case Al-Qaeda.
The 9/11 attacks had a significant impact in demonstrating that non-state actors may be held accountable to international law and may contend in the political and the military arenas, alongside states.
[6] The term Non State Actors is widely used in development cooperation, particularly under the Cotonou Agreement[7] between the European Union (EU) and African, Caribbean and Pacific ACP countries.
According to Article 6, non-state actors include: In practice, it means that participation is open to all kind of actors, such as community-based organisations, women's groups, human rights associations, non-governmental organisations (NGOs), religious organizations, farmers' cooperatives, trade unions, universities and research institutes, the media and the private sector.
While NSAs are incredibly useful in advancing international peace, monitoring human rights violations, and lobbying for socio-political issues like climate change, they also play a role in non-traditional governance.
The importance of this is that in the last 20 years non-state actors have acquired legal recognition due to their heavy involvement in the international order.