lawless zone
Area without authority
A lawless zone is an area where normal legal authority has broken down or never existed—where laws go unenforced and criminal activity flourishes unchecked.
The term applies to failed states, ungoverned territories, or urban districts abandoned by police: The border region had become a lawless zone controlled by cartels.
Politicians sometimes use it rhetorically to characterize places they consider inadequately policed.
- anarchyDisorder from absent authority
- failed stateUngovernable nation lacking authority
- chaosComplete disorder and confusion
- wastelandUninhabitable barren region
- outlawFugitive from justice
frontier · no-man's-land · wild · ungoverned · dangerous · territory · gang · turf war · criminal · hideout · safe house · warlord · smuggler · black market · dystopia · barren · violent · rogue
lawless zonelegal jurisdiction
Area under court authority
jurisdiction · sovereign territory · police state · rule of law · constitutional order
lawless zonesafe zone
Protected area from threats
sanctuary · protected area · safe haven · security zone · police state
law, lawless, lawlessly, lawlessness, laws, lawful, lawfully, unlawful, unlawfully