Group of states in defeat or in disarray (10)
I believe the answer is:
federation
'group of states' is the definition.
(I've seen this before)
'defeat or in disarray' is the wordplay.
'disarray' indicates an anagram.
'defeat'+'or'+'in'='defeatorin'
'defeatorin' is an anagram of 'FEDERATION'.
'in' acts as a link.
(Other definitions for federation that I've seen before include "Alliance" , "Group of states" , "Russia, for one" , "Union of states" .)