ABSTRACT
This volume recognizes three types of non-state actor: non-governmental organizations (NGOs), intergovernmental organizations (IGOs) and transnational corporations (TNCs), which all play roles alongside nation-states (represented by governments) and which are interrelated in matters of international regulation and coordination. Although IGOs are created and controlled by states, their role and status have developed beyond that of being their ‘agents’. Having an agency of its own may result from the activities and authority of the IGO’s secretariat and the roles within the organization played by representatives of NGOs and private business as well as experts. After an overview of this volume, the remainder of this chapter puts the three types of non-state actor in a long-term time perspective by tracing their origin, evolution and interplay as parts of what international relations scholars call the international system of states. It looks upon the territorial state as a historical process, in which non-state actors have achieved their place as well, even if nation-states remain internationally dominant actors.
