Scaling the military effectiveness of violent non-state actors

The concept of violent non-state actors has become one of the most discussed topics in security studies over the last two decades. The emphasis of the violent non-state actors is regarded as their roles in the changing nature of armed conflicts and the dynamism of irregular warfare. Studies about the violent non-state actors have mostly focused on conceptual discussion and typology of the violent non-state actors; effectiveness of their violent, armed, or military activities is discussed through a limited descriptive interpretation by academicians and field experts without a measurement. Measuring the military effectiveness of VNSAs is a key factor for the state actors and the other VNSAs in order to develop either a countering or convergence strategy. Measuring the military effectiveness of VNSAs is also a vital factor in their self-evaluation. Although it is hard to determine the military effectiveness of VNSAs due to their secretive character, this study suggests that their military effectiveness is measurable by a scale composed of certain parameters. Parameters of the scale in this study were determined out of VNSAs' relationship with the social and geographic ecosystems, the pool of potential resources, the organization's ability to process the resources accessed into fighting power, and the practical achievement of their fighting power. This study addresses the military effectiveness of VNSAs and suggests a scale to measure the military effectiveness of a VNSA by suggesting certain effectiveness parameters comprising indicators associated with the strength and weakness of the military effectiveness.