Parallel polis was a term coined to describe the emergence of new social structures during the fight against totalitarianism in 1980’s Czechoslovakia. Rather than live in slavery to their communist masters, people created economic and social structures that ran in parallel with those imposed from above. When the authoritarian regime was toppled in the 1989 Velvet Revolution, many of these new structures segued into the freer society that emerged.
New structures are already well underway online. For example, centralized news sources are being replaced by decentralized news sources, that are open to instant feedback to help determine veracity. Other replacement institutions starting to flourish include Wellness Clinics, Local Currencies and decentralized Schooling.
Parallel structures are not of course isolated entities but work in tandem to resist and eventually replace authoritarian states. They support each other and cross fertilize emerging best practices.