According to durkheim, occurs in a society in which rules of behavior have broken down or become inoperative during periods of rapid social change or social crisis, such as war or famine

Anomie, a state of society in which societal rules have broken down due to a disruptive psycho-social paradigm shift triggered by technological change, severe economic or environmental disruption and the ensuing deterioration of no longer effective individual and collective coping mechanisms. Shakespeare's Hamlet is a good example. When his mother and uncle conspired to murder his father, the monarchy and its existential ground of being were suddenly called into question.