This is not really a thread, but a clarification.
My wife asked me what I was doing on the computer so much today, and I explained this new project, and printed out a couple things for her to read.....(her eyes rolling

).
Her reaction was familiar, but she indulges me on this kind of stuff. She did ask "What is a polity?" So I explained it as well as I understand the term. Since it is an infrequently encountered word, I will henceforth use the terms "state" or "state entity."
I suppose, in the case of Somalian warlords or the Catholic Church or Indonesian pirates, the term state is misplaced, but we need to have some consistency here.

Have a nice weekend!