nonstate

English

Alternative forms

• non-state

Etymology

From non- +‎ state.

Pronunciation

• (UK) IPA^(key): /ˈnɒnˌsteɪt/

Adjective

nonstate (not comparable)

1. Not constituting or belonging to a state; not characterised by the institutional power or authority of an organized government.
   • 2011, Steven Pinker, The Better Angels of Our Nature, Penguin, published 2012, page 49:

     The nonstate peoples we are most familiar with are the hunters and gatherers living in small bands like the ǃKung San of the Kalahari Desert and the Inuit of the Arctic.

   • 2013 April 12, Richard Norton-Taylor, The Guardian:

     More than 70 non-state armed groups were recorded as using the weapons, including 12 that fired rockets and mortars from Gaza into Israel.

Derived terms

• nonstate actor

Noun

nonstate (plural nonstates)

1. A sociopolitical entity other than a state.
   • 2005, Ann Hironaka, Neverending wars:

     States that fail to sufficiently attend to the "imagined" attributes of statehood required by the international system risk being deemed nonstates by the international community...