Patterns of Transnational Cooperation between Violent Non-State Actors (VNSAs)

How do violent non-state actors engage in trans­national coo­peration? In an increasing­ly connected world, such coo­peration between violent non-state actors (VNSAs) can en­hance their chances of survival, magnify the threat they pose to sta­bility across the globe, and expand their reach into inter­actions with criminal orga­nizations. This project inves­tigates patterns of coo­peration between VNSAs across time, em­ploying a mixed-methods approach. It quali­tatively explores crucial case studies of VNSAs engaged in trans­national cooperation across their life­spans, and develops a dataset mapping coope­rative relationships between VNSAs, enabling quan­titative analysis such as social net­work ana­lysis. The project engages with lite­rature on trans­national terrorism and net­works, as well as patterns of coo­peration between VNSAs during con­flict or peacetime.

Picture: Shannon Potter via Unsplash