Monopoly on violence in the context of "Police department"

Anarchy is a form of society without rulers. As a type of stateless society, it is commonly contrasted with states, which are centralized polities that claim a monopoly on violence over a permanent territory. Beyond a lack of government, it can more precisely refer to societies that lack any form of authority or hierarchy. While viewed positively by anarchists, the primary advocates of anarchy, it is viewed negatively by advocates of statism, who see it in terms of social disorder.

The word "anarchy" was first defined by Ancient Greek philosophy, which understood it to be a corrupted form of direct democracy, where a majority of people exclusively pursue their own interests. This use of the word made its way into Latin during the Middle Ages, before the concepts of anarchy and democracy were disconnected from each other in the wake of the Atlantic Revolutions. During the Age of Enlightenment, philosophers began to look at anarchy in terms of the "state of nature", a thought experiment used to justify various forms of hierarchical government. By the late 18th century, some philosophers began to speak in defence of anarchy, seeing it as a preferable alternative to existing forms of tyranny. This lay the foundations for the development of anarchism, which advocates for the creation of anarchy through decentralisation and federalism.

State collapse is the catastrophic breakdown of a sovereign state's institutional apparatus, resulting in the inability to sustain a monopoly on the legitimate use of force.

During periods of state collapse, a provisional government may be formed, particularly where whatever circumstances have caused the first stages of state collapse have resulted in a coup d'état. Regimes attempting to avert state collapse may become increasingly violent and paranoid, resulting in civil society actors and local leaders losing trust in the ability of the central government to exercise effective control and choosing to defend their interests militarily. Neighboring states or great powers may interfere politically, sometime supporting rebel groups. As a result of the collapse of the central government's ability to effectuate economic regulation and taxation, the informal economy becomes dominant, resulting in declining government resources and a vicious cycle of reduction in state capacity.