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a state of society without government or law.
political and social disorder due to the absence of governmental control:
The death of the king was followed by a year of anarchy.
Synonyms: lawlessness, disruption, turmoil.
(def 1).
lack of obedience to an authority; insubordination:
the anarchy of his rebellious teenage years.
confusion and disorder: Intellectual and moral anarchy followed his loss of faith.
It was impossible to find the book I was looking for in the anarchy of his bookshelves.
Synonyms: chaos, disruption, turbulence; license; disorganization, disintegration.
Contemporary Examples

Fire bombs were thrown at shops and looting persisted as Manchester police tried to contain the anarchy.
Cameron: Rioters Will Pay August 10, 2011

When anarchy seems to beckon, Libya pulls back from the brink.
One Year Later, Libya’s Long Road Continues Jamie Dettmer October 21, 2012

Ultimately lesser-known actors Charlie Hunnam (Sons of anarchy) and Dakota Johnson (Ben and Kate) were cast in the coveted roles.
‘50 Shades of Grey’: Ryan Gosling, Shailene Woodley Turn Down Leads Anna Klassen September 3, 2013

If they withdrew entirely, there would be bloodshed and anarchy among the tribal groups.
Back to Afghanistan Magsie Hamilton-Little October 5, 2011

Asked about the mood, Penn State senior Kevin Cirilli, a journalism student, said it feels a lot like “anarchy.”
Exclusive: New Potential Penn State Victims Emerge Jessica Bennett November 9, 2011

Historical Examples

The Arab historians call the regents of this period the “Kings of anarchy.”
History of the Jews, Vol. III (of 6) Heinrich Graetz

The chief of a nation that prefers the pestilence of despotism to the plague of anarchy.
The Devil’s Dictionary Ambrose Bierce

In these uncertain conditions, speculation, usury and anarchy were rife.
The Accumulation of Capital Rosa Luxemburg

Let this business of anarchy be dealt with and settled once and for all!
The Harbor Ernest Poole

If you haven’t embraced the glorious principles of anarchy, old chappie, that’s enough to tell.
The Recipe for Diamonds Charles John Cutcliffe Wright Hyne

noun
general lawlessness and disorder, esp when thought to result from an absence or failure of government
the absence or lack of government
the absence of any guiding or uniting principle; disorder; chaos
the theory or practice of political anarchism
n.

1530s, from French anarchie or directly from Medieval Latin anarchia, from Greek anarkhia “lack of a leader, the state of people without a government” (in Athens, used of the Year of Thirty Tyrants, 404 B.C., when there was no archon), noun of state from anarkhos “rulerless,” from an- “without” (see an- (1)) + arkhos “leader” (see archon).

Either the State for ever, crushing individual and local life, taking over in all fields of human activity, bringing with it its wars and its domestic struggles for power, its palace revolutions which only replace one tyrant by another, and inevitably at the end of this development there is … death! Or the destruction of States, and new life starting again in thousands of centers on the principle of the lively initiative of the individual and groups and that of free agreement. The choice lies with you! [Prince Peter Kropotkin (1842-1921)]