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Non-state actors, in international relations, are actors on the international level which are not states. The admission of non-state actors into international relations theory is inherently a rebuke to the assumptions of realism and other "black box" theories of international relations, which argue that interactions between states are the main relationships of interest in studying international events.

Important non-state actors in international relations include:

• Non-governmental organizations (NGOs);
• Firms and businesses, especially multinational corporations (MNCs);
• The international media;
• International organized crime and drug groups;
• International paramilitary and terrorist groups.
• Transnational diaspora communities
• Individuals (in certain liberal conceptions of IR)

The term Non State Actors (NSA) is also widely used in development cooperation, particularly under the Cotonou Agreement between the European Union (EU|)and the Africa, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) countries. In the formal language of the Cotonou Agreement, the term is used to refer to a wide range of development actors - other than governments - whose participation in ACP-EU cooperation is now formally recognised. According to Article 6 of the Cotonou Agreement, non-state actors include:

• civil society in all its diversity, according to national characteristics;
• economic and social partners, including trade union organisations and;
• the private sector.

In practice, it means that participation is open to all kind of actors, such as community-based organisations, women's groups, human rights associations, non-governmental organisations (NGOs), religious organizations, farmers' cooperatives, trade unions, universities and research institutes, the media, the private sector, etc.

Also included in this definition are informal groups such as grassroots organisations, informal private sector associations, etc.

The private sector, however, is considered only in so far as it is involved in non-profit activities (e.g. private sector associations, chambers of commerce, etc.)