Understanding Non-State Actors

Understanding Non-State Actors aims to reduce the scarcity of academic literature on armed non-state actors (NSAs) that have always been a part of world politics and wars. This monograph offers, possibly for the first time, a systematic historical review as well as a substantive theory of NSAs and their arming efforts.

The world has been astonished by the ability of the well-armed Hamas to inflict heavy losses on the powerful Israel. Thus, from the Jewish rebellion against Rome to the war between the Ukrainian separatists and the Ukrainian government, NSAs' weapons acquisition has been vital for the build-up of their force, enabling both the employment of that force and its sustainability. While weapons are not necessarily the most important factor in military build-up, NSAs need weapons to fight, and revolts usually erupt after the organizers have acquired a certain number of weapons. Conversely, many revolts lose momentum and operations are not carried out, or turn ineffective, due to shortages of arms and ammunition.

A major theme of this monograph is that in spite of dramatic political and technological changes, armed NSAs in different periods have employed similar methods to acquire weapons. Self-production, looting and stealing, external support, and the arms trade were always the major ways for NSAs to acquire weapons, though the importance of each method and the type of arms has changed remarkably over time.

Understanding Non-State Actors discusses the factors political, social, cultural, technological, and organizational that have both facilitated and constrained the ability of NSAs to acquire arms. Especially, lecturers and students of Military, Terrorism, Conflict studies, War and peace studies will benefit from this study.

Auteur

Eran Zohar is an independent researcher in the field of armed groups, security, and intelligence, and has published numerous articles on these subjects. He received his doctorate in Political Science from the University of Otago in New Zealand and served for many years as a senior strategic analyst in the Analysis Division of Israeli Military Intelligence. Recently, he has been conducting geographical-historical studies on Jewish resistance groups that operated in occupied Poland.

Résumé
"As an intelligence officer I was always puzzled by the success of armed groups to acquire arms in the most difficult situations. It is said that the necessity is the mother of invention and this may be well proven from following the ways used for that purpose. Trying to get weapons in spite of states' efforts to prevent is a manifestation of the competition of learning that characterizes warfare throughout history.
This magnificent and well researched book by Dr. Eran Zohar, whose excellent qualities as a researcher I've known for a long time, is an attempt to construct a substantive theory explaining how Non-State Actors manage to acquire arms through the history, and how globalization has affected the way they do so. The research examines how, in each period, new military and general technologies affected NSAs' arming and their role in illicit trade. It is a must read for anybody who wants to understand this phenomenon." Brigadier General (ret.) Yosef Kuperwasser, Former head of the Analysis and research division at the Israel Defense Intelligence branch

"It is no exaggeration to say Eran Zohar's remarkable book breaks new ground in multiple ways. First, it helps to fill a significant gap in the security studies literature concerning the role of armed non-state-actors (NSAs) in global politics. Very little has been previously written on this subject in a focused and systematic fashion. Second, this book has tremendous historical range and traces the role of armed NSAs from ancient times through to an increasingly globalized post-Cold War era. Third, Zohar, drawing on a wealth of historical detail, identifies recurrent factors characterising the activities of armed NSAs and provides the reader with a highly persuasive theory to explain the arming of NSAs in the 21st century. Scholars and policy-makers alike will find this book to be both illuminating and very sobering."

Robert G. Patman, Inaugural Sesquicentennial Distinguished Chair and Professor of International Relations, University of Otago, New Zealand

"Eran Zohar has produced an innovative, comprehensive, thought-provoking study of the arming activities of non-state actors through history and across the modern world. His impressive survey ranges from rebellions against the Romans in Antiquity to the challenges of Shia Islamic militias to the geopolitical order in today's Middle East. Zohar shows how rebels, insurgents and terrorists have taken advantage of the partial globalisation of the early twenty-first century to find shelter, do networking, mobilise finances, and secure access to quite sophisticated weapons. The exploration of interactions between non-state actors and the general apparatus of political and commercial globalisation is fascinating."

William Harris, Emeritus Professor, University of Otega, New Zealand