Heterarchy is a concept from pioneer in cybernetics. It is a type of organisational management that is about nonhierarchy. Often authority is distributed across the various interdependent units that make it up. It is about flexible & fluid

"leadership". Now you may ask what is the difference from anarchy. Well, imo the difference is that heterarchy can exist within hierarchical systems & specifically within authority. Anarchy is explicitly about nondomination, nonoppression & antiauthoritarianism.

Authority & hierarchy are not the same thing. Authority underscores & make up hierarchy but is not hierarchy itself. A hierarchy is in many ways crystallised authority relations that networks into fixed roles & relations.

so heterarchy is very useful as a concept to anarchists both as a concept to use to showcase relations within hierarchical societies that is nonhierarchical but may still be authoritarian or as a concept o highlight alternative forms of leadership that have existed historically &

contemporarily.

That said, anarchy can ofc include anarchic heterarchies (or other forms of self-organisation, self-management & so on).

So Heterarchy is a word one can use to describe flexible & fluid forms of leadership within indigenous societies that in english are implied something they aren't if using the word hierarchy.

anyway sorry for this thread. It is confusing like all of my threads.