NCHU Course Outline

Course Name	(中) 非國家行為者與全球公民社會(6095)
	(Eng.) Non-state Actors and Global Civil Society
Offering Dept	Graduate Institute of International Politics
Course Type	Elective	Credits	3	Teacher	Naina Singh
Department	International Master Program in Asia and China Studies/Graduate	Language	English	Semester	2026-FALL
Course Description	The state as ‘black-box’ has aided the enterprise of International Relations. The current return of geo-politics with rise of populism and the conflictual dynamics of United States and China has again crowned states as the shaper of international outcomes time. Despite the rapid changes witnessed in world of states, the contemporary global landscape is more complex and networked in which an array of actors interacts, cooperate, restrict or challenge the operating machinery of states. This course examines various role of non-state actors in shaping international system. Non-state actors encompass a diverse set of entities. This course begins by evaluating history and emergence of non-state actors , as well as, the theories their rise has informed. From there, the course focuses on following categories of non-state actors: i) Sub-states (provinces, cities and local bodies) , ii) Transnational Economic Actors iv) Armed non-state actors and iv) ICT actors. The aim is to integrate theory with the real world case studies and enable students to comprehend the evolving architecture of global politics. The course will allow students to critically weigh how above mentioned non-state actors challenge, complement or reshape political participation, information flows, international diplomacy, and global security.
Prerequisites				self-directed learning in the course	Y

Relevance of Course Objectives and Core Learning Outcomes(%)			Teaching and Assessment Methods for Course Objectives
Course Objectives	Competency Indicators	Ratio(%)	Teaching Methods	Assessment Methods
1) To introduce students to concepts and theoretical foundation s of non-state actors in IR 2) Evaluate role and impact of key categories of non-state actors. 3) Provide analytical tools to interpret contemporary cases. 4) Synthesize multiple variables to produce complete picture of world politics.			topic Discussion/Production Discussion Lecturing	Written Presentation Attendance Oral Presentation Assignment
Course Content and Homework/Schedule/Tests Schedule
Week Course Content Week 1 Introducing Non-State Actors Josselin, D., Wallace, W. (2001). Non-state Actors in World Politics: a Framework. In: Josselin, D., Wallace, W. (eds) Non-state Actors in World Politics. Palgrave Macmillan, London. https://doi.org/10.1057/9781403900906_1 Ezrow, N. (2017). Security Studies and Violent Non-state Actors. In Global Politics and Violent Non-state Actors (pp. 10–22). Sage Publications. Breslin, Shaun, and Helen E. S. Nesadurai. 2018. “Who Governs and How? Non-State Actors and Transna-tional Governance in Southeast Asia.” Journal of Contemporary Asia 48 (2): 187–203. doi:10.1080/00472336.2017.1416423. Week 2 Conceptualizing Non-State Actors Keck, M., & Sikkink, K. (1998). Transnational Advocacy Networks in International Politics: An Introduction. In Activists beyond Borders: Advocacy Networks in International Politics (pp. 1–38). Cornell University Press. Cowles, Maria. 2003. “Non-State Actors and False Dichotomies: Reviewing IR/IPE Approaches to European Integration.” Journal of European Public Policy 10 (1): 102–20. doi:10.1080/1350176032000046967. Wheatley, Steven. “Democratic Governance beyond the State: The Legitimacy of Non-State Actors as Standard Setters.” Chapter. In Non-State Actors as Standard Setters, edited by Anne Peters, Lucy Koechlin, Till Förster, and Gretta Fenner Zinkernagel, 215–40. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2009 MacDonald, Paul K. “Embedded Authority: A Relational Network Approach to Hierarchy in World Politics.” Review of International Studies 44, no. 1 (2018): 128–50. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0260210517000213 Week 3 Introduction to Sub-State Diplomacy : Concepts, Definitions and Drivers Aguirre, I. (1999). Making sense of paradiplomacy? An intertextual enquiry about a concept in search of a definition. Regional & Federal Studies, 9(1), 185–209. https://doi.org/10.1080/13597569908421078 Stegmann McCallion, M. (2011). Paradiplomacy - Competing, Reinforcing or Coexisting Regional Action? In The role of regions? : networks, scale, territory (pp. 35–44). Cornago, Noé. 2010. "On the Normalization of Sub State Diplomacy." The Hague Journal of Diplomacy 5(1 2): 11 36. Kuznetsov, A. (2015). Theory and Practice of Paradiplomacy Subnational Governments in International Affairs (1st ed.). Routledge. Week 4 Paradiplomacy in Comparative Perspective: Cases and Explanations Hocking, B. (1999). Patrolling the ‘frontier’: Globalization, localization and the ‘actorness’ of non‐central governments. Regional & Federal Studies, 9(1), 17–39. https://doi.org/10.1080/13597569908421069 Lecours. (2002). Paradiplomacy: Reflections on the Foreign Policy and International Relations of Regions. International Negotiation, 7(1), 91–114. https://doi.org/10.1163/157180602401262456 Criekemans, D. (2010). Regional Sub-State Diplomacy from a Comparative Perspective: Quebec, Scotland, Bavaria, Catalonia, Wallonia and Flanders. In D. Criekemans (Ed.), Regional Sub-State Diplomacy Today (pp. 37–64). Martinus Nijhoff Publishers. Dickson, F. (2014). The Internationalisation of Regions: Paradiplomacy or Multi-level Governance? Geography Compass, 8/10, 689–700. Week 5 Paradiplomacy in Asia: India and China Chen, Z., & Jian, J. (2009). Chinese Provinces as Foreign Policy Actors in Africa (No. 22; China in Africa’ Project, pp. 1–22). South African Institute of International Affairs. Wyatt, A. (2017). Paradiplomacy of India’s chief ministers. India Review, 16(1), 106–124. https://doi.org/10.1080/14736489.2017.1279932 Pietrasiak, M., Bywalec, G., Kamiński, T., Mierzejewski, D., & Słowikowsk, M. (2018). Paradiplomacy in Asia: Case Studies of China, India and Russia. University Press. Wong, A. (2018). More than Peripheral: How Provinces Influence China’s Foreign Policy. The China Quarter-ly, 235, 735–757. Cambridge Core. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0305741018000930 Debate Session “Does paradiplomacy strengthen or undermine state authority?” Week 6 Multinational Corporations (MNCs) and Power Hocking, B., & Smith, M. (2014). Case Study: Multinational Corporations. In World Politics: An Introduction to International Relations (p. Chapter 6). Routledge. Ruggie, J. G. (2018). Multinationals as global institution: Power, authority and relative autonomy. Regulation & Governance, 12(3), 317–333. https://doi.org/10.1111/rego.12154 Mikler, J., & Ronit, K. (2020). Introduction: MNCs and their pathways of influence in global politics. In MNCs in Global Politics (pp. 1–29). Edward Elger Publishing. Week 7 MNCs and Social Responsibility Sinclair, Lian. "The power of mining MNCs: Global governance and social conflict." In MNCs in Global Politics, pp. 139-158. Edward Elgar Publishing, 2020. Aisbett, Emma, A. E. Harrison, DAVID I. Levine, Jason Scorse, and Jed Silver. "Do Multinational Corporations Exploit Foreign Workers." Global Goliaths: Multinational Corporations in the 21st Century Economy (2021): 257. Crinis, Vicki. 2019. “Corporate Social Responsibility, Human Rights and Clothing Workers in Bangladesh and Malaysia.” Asian Studies Review 43 (2): 295–312. doi:10.1080/10357823.2019.1588850. Chan, Jenny, Mark Selden, and Ngai Pun. Dying for an iPhone: Apple, Foxconn, and the Lives of China's Workers. Haymarket Books, 2020. Williams, S. W. (2018). Arming the Third World: The Role of the Multinational Corporation. In C. J. Dixon & D. Drakakis-Smith (Eds.), Multinational Corporations and the Third World (p. Chapter 4). Routledge. Week 8 Mid- Term Presentation Question 1 : Do MNCs hinder or accelerated sustainable development? Question 2: How do MNCs influence governance quality and state capacity? Question 3: Are Global South MNCs more sensitive to local needs and cultural contexts in other developing countries, or do they replicate exploitative patterns? (Take examples of China and India) Week 9 The Rise of Private Military Security Providers Singer, P.W. “Corporate Warriors: The Rise of the Privatized Military Industry and Its Ramifications for In-ternational Security.” International Security 26, no. 3 (2001): 186–220. http://www.jstor.org/stable/3092094. Singer, P. W. (2008). The Global Industry of Military Services. In Corporate Warriors:The Rise of the Privat-ized Military Industry (pp. 73–87). Cornell University Press. Tonkin, H. (2011). The private security industry uncovered. In State Control over Private Military and Securi-ty Companies in Armed Conflict (pp. 6–52). Cambridge University Press. McFate, Sean. "Mercenaries and war: Understanding private armies today." (2019). https://apps.dtic.mil/sti/trecms/pdf/AD1115550.pdf Week 10 PMSCs and Hiring States Uesseler, R. (2008). The Clients: “Strong States, Corporate Masters and Rebels.” In Servants of War (pp. 45–67). Soft Skull Press. Rondeaux, Candace. “Decoding the Wagner Group: Analyzing the Role of Private Military Security Contrac-tors in Russian Proxy Warfare.” New America, 2019. http://www.jstor.org/stable/resrep19981. Military and Security Companies (PMSCs), Military Effectiveness, and Conflict Severity in Weak States, 1990–2007. Journal of Conflict Resolution, 61(5), 1046-1072. https://doi.org/10.1177/0022002715600758 (Original work published 2017) Spearin, Christopher. “China’s Private Military and Security Companies: ‘Chinese Muscle’ and the Reasons for U.S. Engagement.” PRISM 8, no. 4 (2020): 40–53. https://www.jstor.org/stable/26918233. Yuan, Jingdong. 2022. “China’s Private Security Companies and the Protection of Chinese Economic Inter-ests Abroad.” Small Wars & Insurgencies 33 (1–2): 173–95. doi:10.1080/09592318.2021.1940646 Week 11 Insurgent Groups: Formation and Sustenance O’Neil, B. E. (2018). Insurgency: A Framework for Analysis. In Insurgency in the Modern World (pp. 1–42). Westview Press. Alehyan, Idean, Kristian Skrede Gleditsch, and David E. Cunningham. “Explaining External Support for In-surgent Groups.” International Organization 65, no. 4 (2011): 709–44. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0020818311000233. Shesterinina, Anastasia, and Michael Livesey. “Armed Group Formation in Civil War: ‘Movement’, ‘Insur-gent’, and ‘State Splinter’ Origins.” Review of International Studies 50, no. 4 (2024): 638–61. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0260210524000020. Chima, J. S., & Saikia, P. (2024). “Theoretical Concerns and Analytical Framework.” In “Insurgency in In-dia’s Northeast Identity Formation, Postcolonial Nation/State-Building, and Secessionist Resistance.” Routledge. Week 12 “Rebel Governance” Ong, A. (2023). Stalemate :Autonomy and Insurgency on the China-Myanmar Border. Cornell University (Chapter 1 and Chapter 5). Kennedy, Jonathan. 2014. “Gangsters or Gandhians? The Political Sociology of the Maoist Insurgency in India.” India Review 13 (3): 212–34. doi:10.1080/14736489.2014.937268. Staniland, Paul. “States, Insurgents, and Wartime Political Orders.” Perspectives on Politics 10, no. 2 (2012): 243–64. http://www.jstor.org/stable/41479550 Furlan, Marta. 2020. “Understanding Governance by Insurgent Non-State Actors: A Multi-Dimensional Typology.” Civil Wars 22 (4): 478–511. doi:10.1080/13698249.2020.1785725. Week 13 Internet and the State Paul E. Ceruzzi, 2008. "The Internet before Commercialization", The Internet and American Business, Wil-liam Aspray, Paul E. Ceruzzi Johan Eriksson, Giampiero Giacomello, Who Controls the Internet? Beyond the Obstinacy or Obsolescence of the State, International Studies Review, Volume 11, Issue 1, March 2009, Pages 205–230, https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1468-2486.2008.01841.x Mueller, M. L. (2010). Networks and States: The Global Politics of Internet Governance. The MIT Press. (Chapter 1 and Chapter 2) Kohl, U., & Fox, C. (2017). Introduction: Internet Governance and the Resilience of the Nation State. In THE NET AND THE NATION STATE: Multidisciplinary Perspectives on Internet Governance”. (p. Chapter 1). Cambridge University Press. Week 14 Presentation Choose a non-state actor discussed above and reflect on how the commercialization of internet has impacted on their influence in world politics. For example: How (violent non-state actors use the Internet to set and implement their influence? How big tech companies , infamously called frightful five influence norms and states? Week 15 Internet of Things and the New Insecurities Greengard, S. (2021). The Internet of Things. MIT Press. (Chapter 1 and Chapter 5) Rose, Karen, Scott Eldridge and Lyman ChapinTHE INTERNET OF THINGS: AN OVERVIEW Understand-ing the Issues and Challenges of a More Connected World https://www.internetsociety.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/08/ISOC-IoT-Overview-20151221-en.pdf Documentary : The Great Hack (2019) Week 16 Final Assignment Visualize complex connections and networks of Non-state actors (choose a case) and write an analytical essay on their agency in world politics self-directed learning    01.Participation in professional forums, lectures, and corporate sharing sessions related to industry-government-academia-research exchange activities.    02.Viewing multimedia materials related to industry and academia.    05.Participation in various workshops organized by different departments of NCHU.
Evaluation
Attendance: 10 percent Mid-term Presentation : 20 Debate/Presentation Session : 30 Final Paper: 40
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