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The states crisis of the 1990s focussed on the statelessness of populations whose link with a state is reconsidered more or less permanently. The existence of such populations does not date back to the downfall of communism or the globalisation. A vast number of refugees from the Second World War, and many others before them, waited a long time in camps for the protection of a state. A rapid survey of these populations shows the extent of the problem: 40 to 50 million refugees from violence in the broad sense of the word – they are refugees or displaced populations – and also a countless number of illegal immigrants. Furthermore, the current evolutions are unlikely to slow down the process.