IntelBrief: Non-State Actors in the Middle East Demonstrate Increasing Power and Influence

Bottom Line Up Front

• The Israel–Hamas war has confirmed the ability of non-state actors, even more so than governments in some cases, to determine the course of events in the region.
• Unlike governments, regional non-state actors recognize few constraints on their behavior, in part because most militias, terrorist groups, and insurgent factions do not feel responsible for the welfare of national populations.
• New technologies, such as sophisticated armed drones, provide regional militia factions with almost as much combat effectiveness as their national governments.
• Global powers struggle to use traditional policy tools to counter or hold accountable non-state actors, who operate outside the global financial system and established diplomatic channels.