"Things fall apart; the centre cannot hold / Mere ... is loosed upon the world" (Yeats) (7)

I believe the answer is:

anarchy

(Other definitions for anarchy that I've seen before include "Collapse of order, rule" , "Society without government or law, chaos" , "Lawlessness; chaos" , "without structure" , "Utter lawlessness" .)

I've seen this clue in The Irish Times.

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