Non-territorial autonomy is a type of autonomy, the most important feature of which is that autonomous are not population groups living in a territory with defined borders, but communities defined based on linguistic, cultural, religious or other features. [vague]
Although means of social organization similar to non-territorial autonomy were also present in the distant past (the most famous of them is the millet system of the Ottoman Empire), the modern understanding of non-territorial autonomy is based on the works of Austrian social democrats Karl Renner and Otto Bauer published in the last years of the 19th and first years of the 20th century. They proposed an autonomy model which was aimed to find a solution to the problems and conflicts caused by the ethnic diversity in Austria-Hungary. However, various forms of non-territorial autonomy implemented today can be multifaceted and they may not have any connection with the vision of Renner and Bauer.
Non-territorial autonomy may be applied in practice or considered suitable in theoretical discussions, for example, to manage diversity inside a state, including for mitigating ethnic conflicts and preventing separatist sentiments among minorities. In addition, non-territorial autonomy can be one of the power sharing measures that increase the involvement of minority groups in decision making processes. Non-territorial autonomy is considered particularly suitable for the protection of the interests of dispersed communities, but it has also been considered suitable for, for example, indigenous peoples whose interests are actually often territorial. Thus, non-territorial autonomy may not function well as a completely independent measure, but may be combined with various means of territorial diversity management.