Which Countries Are Ruled by an Anarchy?
There are no countries ruled by an anarchy even though some anarchist regions exist in countries such as Afghanistan and Somalia. The term anarchy refers to a society that has no publicly enforced government.
Anarchy is a concept that originates in Ancient Greece. The word itself means “without rulers” and refers to a person or society governed by voluntary associations instead of a public form or government. The term is often used in a negative sense to describe lawlessness and disorder in a society. Over the centuries, multiple states tried to use anarchy as their political basis but failed. Examples include England during the English Civil War in the 17th century, France during the French Revolution in the 18th century, Jamaica in 1720, Russia during the Russian Civil War at the beginning of the 20th century, Spain in 1936 during the Revolution led by General Franco, Albania in 1997 and Somalia between 1991 and 2006. The term anarchy is also used for ungoverned communities within a state with a publicly enforced government. Some examples of ungoverned communities include the Kibbutz in Palestine between 1909 and 1948, the Zapatista movement in Mexico, Zomia in Southeast Asia, and Slab City, a squatted RV desert community in California.
