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Actor Types

The Intrace Corpus classifies actors into distinct types to enable precise filtering and analysis. Each actor in the system has an actor_type field that indicates their classification.

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Overview

Actor types are used to categorize entities involved in events. The classification system covers:
  • Government and state actors
  • Military and security forces
  • Political organizations and parties
  • Non-state armed groups
  • Criminal organizations
  • Civil society and activist groups
  • Media and press
  • International organizations
  • Corporations and businesses
  • Individuals

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Using Actor Types in Queries

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List Actors by Type

import requests

# Get all government actors
response = requests.get(
    "https://api.intrace.com/v1/corpus/actors",
    headers={"X-API-Key": "your-api-key"},
    params={"actor_type": "state_government"}
)

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Discover Available Actor Types

Use the metadata endpoint to see all actor types currently in the corpus: 
# Get all actor types with counts
response = requests.get(
    "https://api.intrace.com/v1/corpus/metadata/actor-types",
    headers={"X-API-Key": "your-api-key"}
)
actor_types = response.json()

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Actor Type Definitions

The following actor types are commonly found in the corpus. Use the metadata endpoint above to get the current complete list with counts.

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State & Government

  • National Government: Federal/central government bodies
  • Regional Government: State, provincial, or regional authorities
  • Local Government: Municipal or local government entities
  • Government Agency: Specific government departments or agencies
  • Law Enforcement: Police, national guard, and law enforcement bodies
  • Military: Armed forces and military organizations
  • Intelligence Agency: Intelligence and security services

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Political Organizations

  • Political Party: Registered political parties and movements
  • Political Coalition: Alliances of political parties
  • Opposition Group: Opposition political movements

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Armed Groups

  • Rebel Group: Armed opposition forces
  • Militia: Non-state armed militias
  • Paramilitary: Paramilitary organizations
  • Terrorist Organization: Designated terrorist groups

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Criminal Organizations

  • Cartel: Drug cartels and trafficking organizations
  • Gang: Street gangs and organized crime groups
  • Mafia: Traditional organized crime syndicates

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Civil Society

  • NGO: Non-governmental organizations
  • Activist Group: Civil society and activist movements
  • Labor Union: Trade unions and labor organizations
  • Religious Group: Religious organizations and movements

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Media & Press

  • Media Outlet: News organizations and media companies
  • Journalist: Individual journalists and correspondents

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International

  • International Organization: UN, regional bodies (AU, EU, etc.)
  • Foreign Government: Governments of other nations
  • Multinational Alliance: NATO, coalitions, etc.

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Corporate

  • Corporation: Private companies and businesses
  • Industry Group: Industry associations and lobbying groups

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Individual

  • Individual: Named individuals (politicians, activists, etc.)
  • Unknown: Unidentified or unattributed actors

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Actor Hierarchy

Some events may involve multiple actors in different roles:
  • Principal: Primary actor in the event
  • Secondary: Secondary or opposing actor
  • Sub-Principal/Sub-Secondary: Internal units of the main actors
  • Supporting Principal/Supporting Secondary: External actors providing support
See the Event Data Models page for details on actor positions in events.

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Filtering Events by Actor Type

You cannot directly filter events by actor type through the events endpoint, but you can:
  1. Find actors of a specific type
  2. Get events for those actors
# Step 1: Find all rebel group actors
actors_response = requests.get(
    "https://api.intrace.com/v1/corpus/actors",
    headers={"X-API-Key": "your-api-key"},
    params={"actor_type": "rebel_group"}
)
actors = actors_response.json()["items"]

# Step 2: Get events for a specific actor
for actor in actors:
    events_response = requests.get(
        f"https://api.intrace.com/v1/corpus/actors/{actor['id']}/events",
        headers={"X-API-Key": "your-api-key"}
    )
    events = events_response.json()
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