Abhijeet PimparkarTransnational actors (TNA) in international relations are entities that operate across national borders and influence world politics without being sovereign states. These actors are not confined to the authority or interests of any single nation. It includes multinational corporations (MNCs), non-governmental organisations (NGOs), terrorist groups, international media, religious networks, and transnational advocacy networks.
These actors often play crucial roles in areas such as global trade, human rights, environmental activism, and security, sometimes cooperating with states and at other times challenging their authority.
Do transnational actors have role in international politics?
It remains a matter of debate.
Realism is a state centric view. For them even terrorist organizations are proxies of states.
Liberals, Marxists, Feminists do recognize the role but there is a difference of opinion. Liberals see the positive role of TNAs like MNCs, NGOs in bringing development. Marxists look at MNCs as exploiters and perpetuation of capitalism. Feminists also consider MNCs as exploiters.
Why there is a role of non-state actors? Globalization have given rise to the growth of society centric word. There is also a growth of interdependence.
Which models recognize the role of non-state actors? Cobweb model, Complex interdependence, 3D chess board model.
1] Role of MNCs
As said above, realists do not recognize their role independent of states. Liberals appreciate their role but consider it as a relatively recent phenomenon.
Marxists criticize realist approach. When realists do not recognize MNCs as actors, they are actually diverting our attentions from the activities of MNCs. Similarly liberals promote false consciousness. MNCs have resulted into the continuation of drain of wealth, development of underdevelopment. MNCs did not adopt sustainable development approach. Sometimes MNCs carry forward the interest of their states and sometimes states carry forward the interest of their MNCs.
MNCs have contributed towards the failure of democracies by sabotage, they have toppled the democratically elected governments in Latin America, Middle East and installed puppet regimes. Now even developing countries like India and China are having their own MNCs, which may not follow sustainable path in Africa and Latin American countries, resulting into huge resentment. MNCs are extremely powerful force, the budget of some of the MNCs is bigger than the GDP of many smaller countries. Marxists trace the role of MNCs since 17th century. East India Company can be seen as an example, which established its own empire.
2] Role of NGOs
Realists do not give importance, liberals recognize them as positive agents. Even UN charter recognize the role of NGOs as consultative bodies attached to ECOSOC. (Art 72 of UN charter). Like MNCs even the annual budget of some of the transnational NGOs is many time bigger than the GDP of many smaller countries.
According to Marxists, even their role is not new. Along with East India Company came Christian missionaries. The role of missionaries was to build the soft power. NGOs and MNCs work in close nexus. MNCs channelize the corporate responsibility fund to these NGOs.
Along with MNCs, NGOs have been accused of attempting regime change.
3] Terrorist Organizations
There was role of terrorist organizations in the first world war which started with the assassination of the Prince of Austria by Serbian extremists. Since the creation of Israel and failure of Arab nations in direct war, there has been the growth of terrorist organizations attempting proxy war. PLO (Palestinian Liberation Organization) was initially a terrorist organization.
Initially middle east was affected by these asymmetrical actors but now it has become a global phenomenon. Sponsoring terrorism is a part of foreign policy of many countries. Noam Chomsky calls USA as the first terrorist state in the world.
John Lewis Gaddis predicted the bigger role of asymmetrical actors in post-cold war world order as he suggested that USA has killed the Python (USSR) but has given rise to numerous poisonous snakes. He describes post-cold war security scenario more challenging for USA, because security threat has become diffused and thus difficult to control.
[Refer Topic 11-> Terrorism for more content on the topic.]
