Malawi's albinos attacked for body parts | IOL News
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Apr 26, 2017 - In Malawi, where traditional healers are important in the face of an absent state in rural parts of the country, they wield tremendous influence.
[PDF]immigrant entrepreneurs in italy's south: the new drivers of growth in ...
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the south can become victims and targets for organised crime in the face of an absent state and protective laws. In an existing state of difficulty most graphically ..

I prefer this. "Absent state" is fine; it's a well-established expression. The question is what to do with "ante". I think here, as in many cases, it doesn't imply a response but simply an attendant condition. You might say "in the presence of an absent state", but of course that would be comically paradoxical.

"With an absent state" is idiomatic and neat, in my view.

"With an absent state Cochabambans knew what they needed to do to meet their personal water needs"
https://books.google.es/books?id=osPgCwAAQBAJ&pg=PA87&lpg=PA...

"With an absent state, the mine operators are seen as the solution to the state's neglect"
http://globalextractionnetworks.com/?p=817

"Thus, with an absent state, my research examines how the international sporting organisations should be accountable"
http://opiniojuris.org/2015/08/18/emerging-voices-the-intern...

Alternatively, you might say "In the absence of the state"; you can find a number of examples of this online with the same meaning.

My suggestion.

In the absence of the state, a village in Mopti region takes security into its own hands
http://sahelien.com/en/mali-in-the-absence-of-the-state-a-vi...

My experience of living in Russia through the 1990s made me aware of how, in the absence of the state, what really mattered were human relationships.
https://www.cam.ac.uk/research/features/life-on-the-divide-t...

Or:

If the state fails

The court decided that if the state fails to act to reduce emissions and prevent climate change in accordance with international law then it is failing in its duty of care.
https://www.hglaw.co.uk/site/blog/public-law/ground-breaking...

If the state fails to execute the judgment, the committee decides what measures to take which, as a final sanction, can include expulsion from the Council of Europe.
https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2008/dec/05/dna-databas...

If the state fails to deliver on these expected obligations, Russians are more likely to support politicians who promise social order and stability ...
http://eprints.lse.ac.uk/71687/1/blogs.lse.ac.uk-Why Russias...