Nonstate Actors Program

The Nonstate Actors program reveals understudied militant and non-militant nonstate actors to help reconceptualize national security. Better understanding local context of nonstate actors, especially in the Middle East, Africa, and Central and South Asia, will lead to more forward thinking and sustainable approaches to dealing with the issues of terrorism and extremism. In addition, understanding and supporting civil society actors will help mitigate these issues.

Our Nonstate Actors program is multiregional and multidisciplinary in approach – partner in bridging the gap between policy, practitioners, and academia.

Local Realities

The Local Realities project analyzes the local context of violent nonstate actors, outlining groups as they exist within the local geopolitical and social dynamics to gain a better understanding of the landscape in which top threat groups such as al Qaeda and ISIS affiliates operate.

Pakistan Faces Rising Separatist Insurgency in Balochistan The Gangs of Northern Syria: Life Under Turkey’s Proxies [Upcoming] Central Asia VNSA Landscape Report [Upcoming] East Africa VNSA Landscape Report

Priority Sustainable Counterterrorism

The Nonstate Actors program researches and engages with NGOs, peacebuilding organizations, and local civil society organizations in the Middle East, Africa, and Central and South Asia.

Upcoming publication Upcoming publication [Upcoming] Priority Sustainable Counter-Terrorism: Supporting CSOs in West Africa to Mitigate the Spread of Terrorist Violence from the Sahel

Ghouls to Governance

The Ghouls to Governance project researches nonstate actors that are shifting away from militant activity and/or terrorist identity and seeking legitimacy in state-system governance.

Upcoming publication Upcoming publication