Editorial

The multiplicity of actors has been one of the major features of the international system at the beginning of the 21st century. Traditional actors in international relations consisting purely of sovereign states have been expanded to accommodate non-state actors. In such a diversified international system that has always been regarded as the unique domain of sovereign states, states have been confronted with “sovereignty-free actors” (Rosenau 1990: 36). Sovereignty-free actors are not only non-state actors of the “upperworld” (Duyne et al 2002) such as non-governmental organizations and multinational corporations largely preserving the causes of peace, development, and stability, but are also transnational criminal actors pursuing political power and economic wealth through illicit means.