Hegemony
Hegemony is the dominance of one group over other groups without the use of force. Theories of hegemony attempt to explain why the dominant group is able to maintain this power. The dominant group is called the hegemon. One of the best known theories of hegemony was devised by Antonio Gramsci.
The notion of hegemony has been used to describe periods in ancient Greek history, such as when Sparta became the hegemon of the Peloponnesian League in the 6th century BC. In more recent times, it has been used to describe regional domination by local powers, or domination of the world by a global power. The Cold War (1945 - 1990) was a battle for hegemony between the communist east led by the USSR and the capitalist west led by the United States. Both sides were superpowers battling to dominate the arms race and become the supreme world superpower. Since the end of the Cold War, the term has been used to describe the United States' role as the sole superpower (the hyperpower) in the modern world.
Recently the term hegemony has been re-defined by critical theorists Ernesto Laclau and Chantal Mouffe.
See also: cultural hegemony.
to be written: the idea of "hegemony" in Marxist theory.
See also
- the Spartan hegemony (404 BC - 371 BC)
- the Theban hegemony (371 BC - 362 BC)
- Dollar Hegemony