nonstate actor

Noun

nonstate actor (plural nonstate actors)

1. An organization or other group whose behavior significantly affects political, economic, or strategic interactions between countries or major events within a country, but that is not itself a recognized country or a representative of a recognized country.
   • Nobody's particularly optimistic that the Afghan civil war that began almost a decade ago is going to end any time soon. […] [T]his is a new type of war against a non-state actor, in which the definitions, strategies and yardsticks of all previous conflicts no longer apply.2001 October 31, Tony Karon, “Halloween Word for the Pundits: Quagmire”, in Time, retrieved 24 May 2018
   • “It wasn't until after Sept. 11 that most of us realized that for the first time in human history,” Mr. Blacker said, “a nonstate actor, a group of religious extremists at the very bottom of the international system, had the capability to inflict devastating damage on the very pinnacle of the...2004 April 5, Douglas Jehl, David E. Sanger, “New to the Job, Rice Focused On More Traditional Threats”, in New York Times, retrieved 24 May 2018