List of stateless societies
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
This is a non-exhaustive list of societies that have been described as examples of stateless societies.
There is no universally accepted definition of what constitutes a state,[1] or to what extent a stateless group must be independent of the de jure or de facto control of states so as to be considered a society by itself.
Historical societies
The following groups have been cited as examples of stateless societies by some commentators. But the classification of these societies as truly "stateless" is controversial.
| Society | Period | Notes | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Essenes | 2nd century BCE – 1st century CE | Mystic Jewish sect with communal living practices. | [2] |
| Frisian freedom | 800–1523 | Territory notably not run under the feudal practices normal in Europe at the time. | [3] |
| Taborites | 1420–1452 | Hussite faction which maintained an independent Tábor. Arguably a prototypical anarcho-communist society. | [4] |
| Republic of Cospaia | 1440–1826 | Microstate created by historical anomaly, independent of bordering major powers. This territory lacked many state-like apparatuses. | [5] |
Indigenous societies
Human society predates the existence of states, meaning that the history of almost any ethnic group would include pre-state organisation. The groups listed below have been identified as examples of stateless societies by various commentators, including discussions relating to anarchism.
