Stakeholders and actors

The big idea: Global politics is not just states talking to states. Lots of different groups take part. The most important ones are states, but many non-state actors — like the UN, charities, big companies and protest movements — help shape what happens.

First, two words you will use all the time. An actor can act — it can make a decision or take action. A stakeholder is affected by an issue, even if it has little power to change it.

Here is the difference with a simple example. In a decision about a new oil pipeline, the government and the oil company are actors — they decide and build. The local villagers whose land is affected are stakeholders — they are hit by it, but do not make the decision.

Actor or stakeholder?: Actors (can act): a government, the UN, a company, a protest movement.



Stakeholders (are affected): local families, future generations, workers, refugees.



Many actors are also stakeholders. When you study an issue, list both.

The biggest split between actors is simple: does the actor have sovereignty or not? States do. Everyone else does not. That is why we sort actors into state and non-state.

• IGOs — the UN, EU, WTO.
• NGOs and wider civil society — Amnesty International, Greenpeace.
• MNCs — Apple, Shell.
• Social and resistance movements — such as Fridays for Future.
• The media, political parties, pressure groups and individual leaders.

Why this matters: This is the start of the whole course. Every actor holds some power. The exam question is always: who has power over this issue, and how much?

The clearest way to see actors is to watch them work on one real issue. Climate change is perfect, because almost every type of actor gets involved.

Case study — the Paris Agreement (2015): The Paris Agreement is a deal made in Paris in 2015. Almost every country in the world signed it and promised to cut the emissions that heat the planet, aiming to keep warming well below 2°C.

The deal was made by states — only they can sign a treaty. But they were far from alone. Look at who else shaped it.

So one climate deal pulled in states, an IGO, NGOs, companies and campaigners — no single actor was in charge.

Movements have kept up the pressure ever since. A few years later, the youth movement Fridays for Future put climate back on front pages worldwide — showing how movements keep pushing long after a deal is signed.

The key point, in one line: No single actor can fix a global problem like climate change on its own. States sign the deal, but they need the UN to run it, NGOs to check it, and movements to push it. When actors all rely on each other like this, we call it interdependence.

Now the big debate. Non-state actors are clearly important — but are they now as important as states? People disagree, and the exam loves this argument.

Case study — the power of Big Tech: Big Tech companies like Apple and Meta are worth more than the whole economies of most countries. They hold huge amounts of data, shape what billions of people see and read, and can even affect elections.

That looks a lot like the power of a state. Some people argue these companies have grown so big that governments can no longer control them, and that they set their own rules online.

But there is another side. States can still tax these companies, fine them and pass laws to control them.

For example, the EU fined Google several billion euros for breaking its competition rules — the biggest fine a company was forced to pay. It shows that even the world's largest firms must obey a state's law, or pay the price.

And only states have sovereignty and the power of force — police and armies. That is the line a company can never cross.

Two sides — and you must weigh them: From one side, non-state actors have become as important as states: they are richer, faster and reach across borders. From the other side, states still hold the final power — law, force and the seats at the UN. A top answer explores both sides and then decides.

How Paper 1 works: Paper 1 gives you four short sources (A–D) — these can be a diagram, a chart or short written extracts — and asks four questions, each testing a different skill. It is worth 25 marks in 1 hour 15 minutes.

Easy marks to lose: 1. Just naming actors. Weigh how important they are — don't list them.



2. Only one side. The top marks need both sides weighed and judged.



3. Using fewer than three sources in Q4. You cap your own marks.



4. No real example. Back every point with a real case, like the Paris Agreement.