They merely seek to weaken states, so they can prosper in the lawless space created by collapse of law and order.

It was the ordinary police who prevented a complete collapse of law and order in the loyalist urban districts of Belfast.

The big story in Mexico for the past year has been the uptick in drug violence and the collapse of order in the country.

The concept of a liminal situation can also be applied to entire societies that are going through a crisis or a "collapse of order".

The collapse of totalitarian order in Russia was bound to foster crime.

Outside the bunnies are advancing boldly with the night, or perhaps in anticipation of the collapse of order.

He explained that white paramilitary groups were only training to deal with the inevitable collapse of law and order once blacks gained their political rights.

"They are fanatics, dedicated to the dissolution of our government and the complete collapse of social order."

"Darfur may easily enter a state of anarchy, a total collapse of law and order," he said.

Here the thinking is done on the run, as the collapse of order unfolds through scenes of panic and chaos.