The world’s 190-plus states now co-exist with a larger number of powerful non-sovereign and at least partly (and often largely) independent actors, ranging from corporations to non-government organizations (NGO’s), from terrorist groups to drug cartels, from regional and global institutions to banks and private equity funds. The sovereign state is influenced by them (for better and for worse) as much as it is able to influence them.
目前，全世界共有国家190多个，它们与很多强大的非主权组织、或者至少是一定程度（常常是很大程度）上的独立机构和平共处，这些机构从企业到非政府组织（NGO）、从恐怖团体到毒品联盟、从地区和全球机构到银行和私有资产基金无所不有。主权国家能够对它们施加影响，但也在同样程度上被它们影响着（无论这种影响是好是坏）。主权国家曾经享有的垄断权力已经受到了侵蚀。