How  Violent Non-State Actors responded to the COVID-19 outbreak? The COVID-19 outbreak caught the world by surprise, leading to an unprecedented reality that is plagued with uncertainty and risk. On the security level it created a security risks and gaps, as armies and security agencies had to recalibrate their activities to avoid being overwhelmed by the virus. By doing so, militaries diminished their operational capacity, creating opportunity for hostile actors to exploit these weaknesses. 

At the same time, the outbreak exposed fissures in sovereignty where some states were incapable of responding to the public health crisis on the ground in the rural areas. This situation created opportunities for non-state actors to exploit, either militarily, challenging a debilitated security apparatus and recruiting new followers or politically, gaining advantage by assuming a leadership role in the region. In this study we assess which of these path violent non-state actors (VNSAs) took and why.