The Role of Non-State Actors as Proxies in Irregular Warfare and Malign State Influence

The Role of Non-State Actors as Proxies in Irregular Warfare and Malign State Influence by Dr. Sam Mullins and published by the Department of Defense’s Irregular Warfare Center dives into the strategic use of non-state actors (NSAs) by states to achieve geopolitical goals. The work explores  utility of non-state actors in enhancing deniability, fostering ambiguity, and leveraging unique capabilities, while also addressing the risks posed by non-state actor misalignment and misconduct. This publication is a critical resource for understanding the evolving landscape of irregular warfare and gray-zone operations.

Here is the abstract:

This paper explores the ways that states benefit from the activities of non-state actors (NSAs) as tools of irregular warfare (IW), with a particular focus on China and Russia. An examination of the historical relationships between state and non-state actors reveal that while proxies provide many potential advantages to their authoritarian patrons, they also present significant problems. The paper further demonstrates how China and Russia each utilizes a wide range of NSAs in a similarly broad spectrum of irregular warfare activities, including low-level persistent operations designed to erode adversaries’ institutions over time, to much more kinetic operations that directly challenge the territorial integrity of other sovereign states. Implications for how to respond to these activities are discussed.

Click on any of the links above to access this critical work.

Photo credits to this article by Haroun Alfarsi featured in Profolus titled, Non-State Actors Explained: Types and Roles