Ethics of War: Role of States in Dealing with Non-State Actors

This paper discusses the role of states in dealing with non-state actors, specifically violent and radical groups that pose a threat to other states. It explores the nature of these groups, their characteristics, and the authority of states to use force against them. Examples from history are also provided.

Running head: ETHICS OF WAR
ETHICS OF WAR
Name of the Student
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Executive Summary
In the following paragraph the role of the states and their authority is discussed when there are
cases of threats or actual attacks from various non state actors of foreign lands. Because these
entities are situated in the foreign land it is difficult for the states that are attacked to take
immediate military actions against them. However historically it has been witnessed that various
cases of terrorism by non-state actors in foreign lands were tackled militarily by different
nations. In this paper it is understood that who are these non-state actors, what is their nature,
what are the ways in which they threat foreign states, and finally what is the authority and in
which circumstances can the states use force in order to bring down these violent and radical non
state actors.

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Table of Contents
1.0 Introduction................................................................................................................................3
2.0 Discussion..................................................................................................................................4
2.1 The Violent Non State actors.................................................................................................4
2.2 Characteristics of Various violent non state actors around the world...................................6
2.3 Threat of Non State actors on other States............................................................................8
2.4 Role of a State to Deal with Violent Foreign Non-State Actors............................................9
2.5 Examples from History........................................................................................................10
3.0 Conclusion...............................................................................................................................12
4.0 Reference & Bibliography.......................................................................................................13

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1.0 Introduction
Throughout history of human civilization there has been entities whose sole motive has
been disrupting the peaceful civilized society. They have often resorted to violence and other
destructive means to achieve their target of threatening peaceful human life on earth.
Political history of men begun since the time when the idea of the ruler and ruled has
prevailed in the society. The division of state depending on the authority of various ruling classes
further deepened the politicization of human society. The state was first historically formed in
the ancient age in the ancient civilizations of Egypt, Harappa and Mohenjo-Daro and
Mesopotamia. In Rome later on the Primary States were formed which were smaller in size. The
modern state evolved since then and went through various changes.
Within these states there are various non state actors and interest groups. These non-state
actors can be differentiated according to their profit making objectives, religious ideology, social
ideology, or other ideologies that help in bringing them together and forming a group. A few
These non-state actors are “corporations, media organizations, business magnates, people's
liberation movements, lobby groups, religious groups, aid agencies”1.
The non-state actors can be divided by the nature of the method which they adopt to
achieve their objectives broadly into two groups, nonviolent non state actors and violent non
state actors. The perceived threat to the states are caused by the violent non state actors most of
which are the terrorist groups. These terrorist groups either target the same country they are
based in or they target another country in the neighborhood or far away from their base2.
1 Martin, G., 2017. Understanding terrorism: Challenges, perspectives, and issues. SAGE publications.
2 Jenkins, B.M., 2015. International terrorism: A new mode of conflict. In International terrorism and world security
(pp. 23-59). Routledge.

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The non-state actors that are based in foreign countries and harming a particular state
becomes a cause of concern for the state that is harmed. This is because the non-state actor is
situated in another land, where the laws are different and it becomes problematic to bring these
under control.
2.0 Discussion
2.1 The Violent Non State actors
Along the lines of ideology or along the lines of political objectives the non-state actors
may form their own violent and radical groups which are supplied by certain parties with arms
and ammunitions. The religious ideologies may cause these non-state actors to go against certain
nations which are not following their own religious ideology. Example of such non state actors
causing disturbances in various parts of the world are the terrorist organizations that are based in
various North eastern regions of Pakistan and are causing terrorist attacks regularly on the
borders of India situated in the Northwestern side of India. Historically there have been crusade
wars that took place on religious lines, however because the states were not so definitively
formed at that point of time, hence these groups cannot be divided on the basis of state or non-
state actors. Another form of terrorist organizations are the ones which are formed along the line
of ideology about their origin. In the land of Palestine such organizations are seen regularly
causing armed conflict against Israel. The point of conflict is the fact that land was basically
claimed by the people of Palestine to be their own, however historical data showed that the Jews
belonged to that land and Jews population from various parts of the world came and based in the
region and formed the state of Israel. This had caused various organization to take up arms to
fight against the Jews and the state of Israel.

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Therefore, the Violent non state actors are the groups that take up arms to achieve their
objectives. These violent non state actors can be divided into the ones who take up the arms
against the country or state they are situated in and they can be classified into another category-
the ones who take up arms against other countries.
In Australia the Australian government has maintained their own list of terrorist organizations
according to the National Security Agency of Australia3. These are:-
“Abu Sayyaf Group
Al-Mourabitoun
Al-Qa'ida (AQ)
Al-Qa'ida in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP)
Al-Qa'ida in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM)
Al-Shabaab
Ansar al-Islam
Boko Haram
Hamas's Izz al-Din al-Qassam Brigades[7]
Hizballah's External Security Organisation (ESO)
Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan
Islamic State
3 Nationalsecurity.gov.au (2018). Listed terrorist organisations | Australian National Security. [online]
Nationalsecurity.gov.au. Available at: https://www.nationalsecurity.gov.au/listedterroristorganisations/pages/
default.aspx [Accessed 13 Apr. 2018].

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Jabhat al-Nusra
Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM)
Jamiat ul-Ansar
Jemaah Islamiyah (JI)
Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK)
Lashkar i Jhangvi (LeJ)
Lashkar-e-Tayyiba
Palestinian Islamic Jihad”
Australia maintains its own recognized terrorist organization list, just like all other
countries have their own list that recognizes the terrorist organization they feel threatened from.
The United Nation has several lists that designate the threat of terrorist violent noon state actors
around the globe. The United Nations list called the UN 1267 Regime List is dedicated to the
terrorist organization Al Qaeda, Taliban and the organizations that are related to it4.
2.2 Characteristics of Various violent non state actors around the world
One of the largest terrorist non state organization of the world is the Taliban. This
organization is based at Afghanistan don has caused death of millions of people all around the
globe through various terrorist activities like, explosion, suicide bombing, firing and other fatal
attacks. This organization started as a religious fundamental movement which had clear political
ideas about establishing a radical Sunni Islamic state within Afghanistan and at other locations
4 Un.org (2018). UN Global Counter-Terrorism Strategy | Counter-Terrorism Implementation Task Force. [online]
Un.org. Available at: https://www.un.org/counterterrorism/ctitf/en/un-global-counter-terrorism-strategy [Accessed
13 Apr. 2018].

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all around the world. This organization was a product of the Afghanistan civil war. The Taliban
gained control over most of the parts of Afghanistan and was in the process of establishing a
terrorist nation in which America intervened militarily to contain the power in 2001, and the
2011 attack on America was largely because of this step of intervention by America. The 2011
attack on American soil, when aero planes had crashed into the two tallest buildings of USA, The
World Trade Center, caused death of a large number of people, this then caused America to
radically take action in terrorist’s organization in the middle east, and in a later infiltration attack
USA Marine soldiers killed Osama Bin Laden, who was the founder of Al Qaeda, another
terrorist organization. This is a clear example of actio0n taken by a state on non-state actors
based in the soil of another state.
Al Qaeda is one of the very prominent non state terrorist organization. The United Nation
recognizes this organization to be one of the greatest threats. The organization has in its credits
attack on various countries around the world including US embassy bombing in 1998, The
September 11 attacks, and the Bali bombings in 2002. The continuous terrorist attcks were
responded by the killing of Osama by USA Marines. Since then the extent of operations of the
entity has reduced5.
The non-state radical violent organization that recently became very powerful in the
middle east is the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant which is by another name also known as
the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria. This terrorist organization had a very large scale impact on
the geography of the state and it captured large part of Iraq and Syria and it was on a spree of
attacking a number of neighboring countries. Again the international community and several
5 Kelley, M., 2014. Terrorism and the growing threat of weapons of mass destruction: Al-Shabaab. Anchor
Academic Publishing (aap_verlag).

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countries had to militarily intervene in order to tackle the situation and military aid was provided
to the incumbent government to deter the military might of the ISIS.
Now it is to be understood that in what situation and what context a state can take actions
against the non-state actors situated in a foreign land. In the above examples it can be seen that
the countries like USA which had been pushed to the limit by terrorist non state violent entities,
had to take actions entering the sovereign land of another state to contain the problem.
2.3 Threat of Non State actors on other States
The threat of the non-state actors on other state is mainly posed by the terrorist and
violent organizations. However, there can be impact brought about by religious organizations
who may visit other lands in order to preach their theology. However, if that preaching is done in
a peaceful way and the religious principles are not forced on the people who are preached, then it
does not pose a threat to the state. If the religious principles are forced on the people or there are
any other monetary benefits for which the demographics of the country is changing, then it is a
threat to the state.
Other foreign non-state actors that may be a threat to the land may be the smugglers who
are not following the law of the country but are carrying out their business in an illegal manner.
The companies of foreign countries that evade tax and cause economic losses to the country is
another form of threat by foreign non-state actors. However, the largest threat remains the
terrorist organizations. These may attack or cause threat of attack which the countries have no
other way other than to defend by military means.
In this context the United Nations states in its official statement about non-state violent
terrorist organizations as: - “145. Terrorism attacks the values that lie at the heart of the Charter

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of the United Nations: respect for human rights; the rule of law; rules of war that protect
civilians; tolerance among peoples and nations; and the peaceful resolution of conflict. Terrorism
flourishes in environments of despair, humiliation, poverty, political oppression, extremism and
human rights abuse; it also flourishes in contexts of regional conflict and foreign occupation; and
it profits from weak State capacity to maintain law and order. Al-Qaida is the first instance —
not likely to be the last — of an armed non-State network with global reach and sophisticated
capacity. Our recommendations provided above on controlling the supply of nuclear,
radiological, chemical and biological materials and building robust global public health systems
are central to a strategy to prevent this threat.”6
2.4 Role of a State to Deal with Violent Foreign Non-State Actors
The term non-state actors (NSA) refer to entities who participate or take part in the
international relations The non-state actors have the power to exert its influence on the state with
the aim to usher in change without being part of the main functioning body of the state. Violent
Non-State Actors is an organization that adopts illegal violence to meet its objectives. Violent
non0state actors not only infringe with the normal functioning of the state by disrupting the state
machineries. They are perpetually engaged in running the business and weaken and defy the
sovereignty of the state. In countries like Iraq, insurgent groups, militia and several criminal
operations seek an opportunity to interact with the state machinery through violent means.
Violent non-state actors have become a threat to the nation and posits global concern. In case of
Europe Jihadist terrorist organizations have involved in multiple terrorist activities and carried
out much-publicized attacks in London and Madrid. VSNAs have existed for a long time. It
began in Rome during the peak of the Roman Empire. The Roman empire had to deal with
6 Un.org (2018). Terrorism. [online] Un.org. Available at: https://www.un.org/News/dh/infocus/terrorism/sg
%20high-level%20panel%20report-terrorism.htm [Accessed 13 Apr. 2018].

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criminal bands that used to prey on the citizens. The violent non-state actors have become a key
part of the decolonization process. They have always to gain control over the state rather than
being subservient and docile. The ability of the state can be understood in terms of the strong-
weak continuum across some of the main dimension. There areas are legitimacy. As emphasized
by KJ Holsti, that more the state is legitimate, the more it seeks consent than applying coercion.
It applies authority rather the use of coercive force7. The next key area is that of capacity. States
that are effective and strong have extractive capacity and comply this with the provision of
collective commodities that may range from the maintenance of security to welfare and
healthcare. States that prevent t the extraction of raw materials come to be known as the rentier
states. In this type of states, it is the political elites whop reaps the benefits whereas the mass
population have to face deprivation. The foreign non-state actors exploit the space created for
functional roles and in the context of an absence of effective criminal justice, these actors
become a proxy of the state. The next key area is the primacy of the collective interest over the
individual interest. According to this area, the collective interest is placed over the individual
interest of the citizens. In sates there are general acceptance of the process of politics and also
consensus on the what is to be considered as permissible behavior and what is not to be
considered as permissible behavior. In situation when state control become the reward of politics
then emerges the obligation of the collective interest that are sidelined in favor of functional or
individual interests. The fourth area is inclusiveness rather than exclusivity. Exclusion pertains to
political, social and economical or sometimes a combination of all these8. States have been
victims of repeated foreign attacks in the form of terrorism and violent uprisings they are entitled
to seek remedy. In countries like Cambodia and Georgia, States have carried out secret attacks
7 Holsti, K., 2016. The Use of Force in International Politics: Four Revolutions. In Kalevi Holsti: Major Texts on
War, the State, Peace, and International Order (pp. 27-42). Springer, Cham.
8 Enders, W., Hoover, G.A. and Sandler, T., 2016. The changing nonlinear relationship between income and
terrorism. Journal of Conflict Resolution, 60(2), pp.195-225.

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against the violent non-state actors. There are reports against the state for not following the
proper procedure
2.5 Examples from History
Examples of violent foreign non-state actors and their relationship with the government
can be illustrated in the form is the illustration of the Allied Democratic Forces had its vigorous
operations in DRC (Democratic Republic of Congo) between the period of 1997 to 19999. This
alliance conducted violent crimes against the humanity in the region of DRC in Uganda. These
Allied Democratic Forces were present in DRC and conducted large scale violence with the aim
to destabilize and overthrow the temporary government. The group conducted operations beyond
the territories of Uganda and remained a constant threat to international security. There is
another illustration of piracy in Somalia coast. The United Nations Security Council in this case
conceded that there is threat that is being posed by the non-state violent actors. These pirate
groups were loosely organized and were based out of the Somalia coast and targetted the large
ships and containers that were sailing towards the Gulf of Aden. This was considered as an act
that was criminal under the laws set by the international community. The final illustration is that
of the flourishing terrorist outfits like the Jaish-e-Mohammad, Al-Qaeda, Al-Shadab, Hizbul
Mujahedeen, Hezbollah and HAMAS. These factions of terrorists have intra-nexus connection
with each other and make an endeavor to reach to the target on a global level. In case of violence
all these factions can be subsumed under one category of foreign violent non-state actors because
the organizations determine and the operational mechanisms pose difficulty in targeting. There is
a requirement of certain amount of efficiency received from the agencies of the state and poses
grave threat to international security and international peace. Then there are the illustrations of
9 Lansford, T., 2018. All for One: Terrorism, NATO and the United States. Routledge.

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insurgency in the Islamic state in Syria and Iraq where these religious militant groups through a
complete breakdown of the machinery target the weak state. In Afghanistan, the warlords have
used the state building and democratization policy to legitimate their actions to exert power and
impose their dominance over the territories. In the southern region of Basra, the majority of
violence has been between the Fadhila the SIIC’s Badr organization and the Mahdi Army. The
violence is an outcome of the control of oil. Then there is the Al-Qaeeda that has received the
most attention all over the world. This terrorist organization is responsible for the attack on the
twin towers of World Trade Centre and Pentagon in USA. It was spearheaded by Osama-Bin
Laden with the aim to establish the power of the middle-eastern regime on the American soil For
these violent non-state foreign actors the existing regimes that ushers in change and new
thoughts are viewed with suspicion. Another illustration can be the infamous ceasefire of Indian
army in Pakistan.
3.0 Conclusion
Thus it can be concluded from the above discussion that the violent non state actors pose
a big threat of security to the nations all over the globe. It is required for the interest of the states
themselves to defend such attacks and take part in processes that eliminate such actors from
doing such harm to the states, and cause casualties. It is better if the state cooperates from whose
soil such attacks are taking place. The state whose soil is used to commit violence on other states
should take responsibility in making sure that the internal mechanism of the state is taking all
possible actions to remove such threats. When that is not done, it comes to the state on which
such attacks are aimed at, to take appropriate measures to save its own people from dying in the
hands of the terrorists. The United Nations must be taken into dialogue before the final action of
directly launching an offensive on the state on whose territory the radical bodies are situated is

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turned into action. The United Nations have certain powers and jurisdiction in this regard. There
are various international forces available to the United Nations, that can be put to action.
However, when not any such measure actually helps in stopping violent attacks from the non-
state actors, often it is seen that the victim nations take up the cause themselves and eliminate
terrorist elements from the soil of a foreign land.

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4.0 Reference & Bibliography
Chomsky, N., 2015. Culture of Terrorism. Haymarket Books.
Combs, C.C., 2017. Terrorism in the twenty-first century. Routledge.
Enders, W., Hoover, G.A. and Sandler, T., 2016. The changing nonlinear relationship between
income and terrorism. Journal of Conflict Resolution, 60(2), pp.195-225.
Holsti, K., 2016. The Use of Force in International Politics: Four Revolutions. In Kalevi Holsti:
Major Texts on War, the State, Peace, and International Order (pp. 27-42). Springer, Cham.
Jenkins, B.M., 2015. International terrorism: A new mode of conflict. In International terrorism
and world security (pp. 23-59). Routledge.
Kelley, M., 2014. Terrorism and the growing threat of weapons of mass destruction: Al-
Shabaab. Anchor Academic Publishing (aap_verlag).
Lansford, T., 2018. All for One: Terrorism, NATO and the United States. Routledge.
Laqueur, W., 2017. A history of terrorism. Routledge.
Law, R.D., 2016. Terrorism: A history. John Wiley & Sons.
Martin, G., 2017. Understanding terrorism: Challenges, perspectives, and issues. SAGE
publications.
Nacos, B., 2016. Mass-mediated Terrorism: mainstream and digital media in terrorism and
counterterrorism. Rowman & Littlefield.
Nationalsecurity.gov.au (2018). Listed terrorist organisations | Australian National Security.
[online] Nationalsecurity.gov.au. Available at:

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https://www.nationalsecurity.gov.au/listedterroristorganisations/pages/default.aspx [Accessed 13
Apr. 2018].
Sageman, M., 2014. The stagnation in terrorism research. Terrorism and Political
Violence, 26(4), pp.565-580.
Simon, J.D., 2016. Lone wolf terrorism: Understanding the growing threat. Prometheus books.
Spaaij, R. and Hamm, M.S., 2015. Key issues and research agendas in lone wolf
terrorism. Studies in Conflict & Terrorism, 38(3), pp.167-178.
Un.org (2018). Terrorism. [online] Un.org. Available at:
https://www.un.org/News/dh/infocus/terrorism/sg%20high-level%20panel%20report-
terrorism.htm [Accessed 13 Apr. 2018].
Un.org (2018). UN Global Counter-Terrorism Strategy | Counter-Terrorism Implementation
Task Force. [online] Un.org. Available at: https://www.un.org/counterterrorism/ctitf/en/un-
global-counter-terrorism-strategy [Accessed 13 Apr. 2018].
White, J.R., 2016. Terrorism and homeland security. Cengage Learning.