Hegemony

Lore & Background

In Ancient Greece (ca. 8th BC – AD 6th c.), hegemony referred to the politico-military dominance of a hegemon city-state over other city-states. By the 19th century, the denotation extended to describe the predominance of one country upon other countries, and hegemonism denoted Great Power politics for establishing indirect imperial rule. In the early 20th century, Italian Marxist philosopher Antonio Gramsci used the idea of hegemony to analyze politics within a society, developing the theory of cultural hegemony, which examines how the ruling class uses consent as well as force to maintain power.

Reader's Guide

Hegemony is a central concept in geopolitics and international relations, describing the predominance of one state over others. Its significance lies in its distinction from empire—hegemony rules only external affairs of other states—and its application to cultural dominance within societies, as developed by Antonio Gramsci. The concept has been used to analyze historical examples such as Prussia's role in the German Empire and Napoleon Bonaparte's influence on the French Consulate.

In modern international relations, hegemony shapes debates about unipolarity, bipolarity, and multipolarity, and about the stability of global orders. Scholars disagree on whether American hegemony is declining, with some citing the rise of China. The term also appears in media and communications studies, where it refers to dominant individuals or concepts in a culture, building on Gramsci's work and Stuart Hall's analysis of media as a critical institution for furthering or inhibiting hegemony.

Did You Know?

• The term derives from the Greek word ἡγεμονία (hēgemonía), meaning 'authority, rule, political supremacy'.
• Hegemonic stability theory, developed in the 1970s, argues that a hegemonic power is necessary for a stable international order.