Power vacuum
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A power vacuum is an expression for a political situation that can occur when a government has no identifiable central authority.
During or following a civil war there is often a power vacuum of some sort. For example, the war-torn nation of Somalia is currently mired in a power vacuum, with no central government or president exercising control over the supposed "Republic of Somalia".
A power vacuum can also occur following a constitutional crisis in which large portions of the government resign, creating unclear issues regarding succession to positions of power.
Clarification: The implications of a power vacuum are that a powerful individual or group will "rush in" to fill that vacuum, perhaps an undisirable or armed militia or dictator.
After the second World War, there was a power vacuum. Along with the division of East and West Germany, Stalin's diplomacy and governance, the development of the atomic bomb, policies of containment of communism, the expansionism of the USSR and a growing lack of trust (fear of a hegemony) were seen to be factors in the emergence of the Cold War.
The concept is relevant to many personal and organizational situations.
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