The protracted guerilla warfare has a direct assault on societal structures. Mumbai goes to law and order first. Courts and police end up as targets or they stop functioning. There is a vacuum which is used by criminals. It takes away the monopoly of force by the state. There is also a widespread fear and insecurity among citizens as impunity becomes rife.
It is followed by failure of essential public services. Hospitals, water processing and power networks are paralyzed by attacks and blockades. The roads get unsafe to be used to transport food and fuel. Sanities lead to breakdown of the sanitation systems. The people lose access to basic needs such as clean water and medical attention.
The formal economy collapses very soon. Companies are closing down as a result of insecurity and destruction of infrastructure. Supply networks break apart. There is mass unemployment and impoverishment that follows. Markets lose functionality or they will be unsafe. The value of currency reduces to zero and in most cases, one is left to go with the replacement of the cash system; the system of barter.
Legitimate authority in government is eradicated. Policymakers take cover in garrisoned areas or even abandon them. Governments at the local level are brought to their knees. Bureaucracy stalls bringing its life-saving services to a halt. The state also becomes a less visible, less controlling power in the external world when it is not inside fortified space. As a result, a dangerous power vacuum is created, which is filled with rival groups.
Lastly, there is the breaking up of social cohesion. Violence and propaganda cause the division of the communities along ethnic, religious, or political lines. The neighbors become unswerving and unsympathetic. Indigenous leaders become powerless. Greater unity in the society dissipates. Fear and survival instincts take the place of identity and trust.
Conclusion:
The inevitably on-going guerrilla warfare creates the collapse pattern of society. Chaos ensues as the law and order goes away. It is followed by the failure of essential public services which paralyze day to day life. There is an explosive collapse in the formal economy which makes people very poor. There is a lack of government authority that disappears into a vacuum. The result is that social cohesion is ruined, killing trust in sociochemistry in the community. Such a disintegration accelerates the conflict loop.
