Hegemony (pronounced [ˈhɘ.dʒɘ.mɘ.ni]) (Greek: ἡγεμονία hēgemonía) is a concept that has been used to describe the existence of dominance of one social group over another, such that the ruling group -- referred to as a hegemon -- acquires some degree of consent from the subordinate, as opposed to dominance purely by force.^[1]

 

Theories of hegemony

Theories of hegemony attempt to explain how dominant groups or individuals can maintain their power -- the capacity of dominant classes to persuade subordinate ones to accept, adopt and internalize their values and norms. Antonio Gramsci devised one of the best-known accounts of hegemony. His theory defined the State by a mixture of coercion and hegemony, between which he drew distinctions. According to Gramsci, hegemony consists of socio-political power that flows from enabling the "spontaneous consent" of the populace through intellectual and moral leadership or authority as employed by the subalterns of the State. The power of the hegemony is thus primarily through coercion and consent rather than armed force. Such conceptions are sometimes referred to as "cultural hegemony."

Recently, Ernesto Laclau and Chantal Mouffe have re-defined the term "hegemony" as a discursive strategy of combining principles from different systems of thought into one coherent ideology.

 

Hegemonies in history

The word "hegemony" originated in ancient Greece and derives from the word hegeisthai (meaning "to lead"). An early example of hegemony during ancient Greek history occurred when Sparta became the hegemon of the Peloponnesian League in the 6th century BC. Later, in 337 BC, Philip II of Macedon became the personal Hegemon of the League of Corinth, a position he passed on to his son Alexander the Great.

In ancient China during the Eastern Zhou dynasty the Zhou kings appointed hegemons (known as "Ba"). This was due to the increasing chaos that resulted from the weakening of Zhou authority. The hegemons - initially from the powerful state of Jin - were men with sufficient strength to impose Zhou rule. In return they got prestige and legitimacy they would not otherwise enjoy. The office of hegemon had vanished by the time the last Zhou king was deposed in 256 BC.

The term hegemon is also used to describe Japan's three unifiers in the late sixteenth century and early seventeenth century. Oda Nobunaga, Toyotomi Hideyoshi and Tokugawa Ieyasu each had different titles (and held many different posts during their lifetimes), but each had in common that they exercised hegemony over all or much of Japan (and in Hideyoshi's case much of Korea at one point). For ease of reference they are collectively referred to as the three hegemons or the three unifiers.

To the extent that hegemony appears as a cultural phenomenon, cultural institutions maintain it. The Medici maintained their hegemony in Tuscany through control of Florence's major guild, the Arte della Lana. Modern hegemonies also maintain themselves through cultural institutions, often with allegedly "voluntary" membership.

The dominance of the British Empire during the 19th Century can be considered the first emergence of a global hegemon whose influence reached all over the globe. The hegemony, or dominance, of Britain during this period stemmed not only from its large military power on the seas, but also from its financial and ideological power in both its Empire (the colonies) and elsewhere.

In more recent times, analysts have used the term hegemony in a more abstract sense to describe the "proletarian dictatorships" of the 20th century, resulting in regional domination by local powers, or domination of the world by a global power. China's position of dominance in East Asia for most of its history offers an example of the regional hegemony.

The Cold War (1945 - 1990), with its main avenues of coercion — the Warsaw Pact led by the USSR and NATO led by the United States — often appears as a battle for hegemony. The details of the parties' respective ideologies have no relevance to whether they are hegemons: both sides featured superpowers (supported by their clients) battling to dominate the arms race and become the supreme world superpower. The details of the ideologies do come into play to the extent they determine the persuasiveness or efficiency each hegemon.

Since the end of the Cold War, analysts have used the term "hegemony" to describe the United States' role as the sole superpower (the hyperpower) in the modern world. However, some scholars of international relations (such as John Mearsheimer) argue that the United States does not have true hegemony, since it lacks the resources to impose dominance over the entire globe. Also, China, India, and the European Union are considered by some to be emerging superpowers capable of competing with the U.S in their own regions, and, in the case of the EU, worldwide. British historian Niall Ferguson has reviewed Patrick Karl O’Brien, the Centennial Professor of Economic History, London School of Economics comparative analysis of hegemony vs. empire.^[2]

 

Hegemony in fiction

The novel Valis by the science fiction writer Philip K. Dick treats the concept of hegemony as one aspect of what he calls the Black Iron Prison, a totalised system of social control.

Orson Scott Card used the title 'Hegemon' to describe the office of world leader taken by the fictional character Peter Wiggin, the brother of Andrew (Ender) Wiggin. The story of Peter's rise to dominance is (partly) told in the science fiction novel Ender's Game, and more fully in the 'Shadow' series. Peter uses his great intelligence and political savvy to manipulate public opinion by publishing under the pseudonym of "Locke". Peter persuaded his sister, Valentine Wiggin, to publish opposing viewpoints that were widely supported by the common people under the guise of "Demosthenes". The educated and political communities, fearing the power Demosthenes held with the common people, consequently supported Locke, a more moderate writer in their opinion. Ironically, once Peter attains the office, he finds that it has little actual power, contrary to what the title would lead one to believe.

Dan Simmons' Hyperion Cantos also features an interstellar society called 'The Hegemony of Man'. The Hegemony includes all of the several hundred planets colonized by the human race, as well as space stations and outlying colonies. The Hegemony funds and maintains an interplanetary military/police entity called FORCE, and two hundred or so Hegemony planets are linked together by the farcaster network to comprise the WorldWeb. The TechnoCore and the Ousters are not included in the Hegemony.

Robert A. Heinlein referred several times to the "Chinese Hegemony" in his novel, "Starship Troopers".

In Battletech, there is an interstellar government called the Terran Hegemony, lasting from the early 24th century to the late 28th century. The government is more akin to a constitutional monarchy than anything else.

In Star Control 3, the player struggled against the Hegemonic Crux, a hegemony of races dominated by the Ploxis, an intelligent, bird-like race of aliens.

In Star Trek (especially Deep Space Nine), the Breen race is represented by a government called the "Breen Hegemony". In one Next Generation episode, the "European Hegemony" is described as a loose alliance of states in the early 22nd century, and is assumed to no longer exist.

In Iain M. Banks's Culture novels, a "Hegemonising Swarm" is a hive-like organism that seeks to make everything in the galaxy a part of it. It is described as one potential Outside Context Problem for the Culture.

 

Geography of hegemonies

Hegemony does not leave geography untouched. Henri Lefebvre's theory of space, as articulated in "The Production of Space", insists that space is not a passive locus of social relations and that space is trialectical. That is space is comprised of mental space, social space and physical space. This said, hegemony can be read as a spatial process. (See Edward Soja, David Harvey, Chantal Mouffe)

Geopolitics influences hegemonies. Ancient hegemonies developed in fertile river valleys (an example of hydraulic despotism): Egypt, China and the succession of states in Mesopotamia. In China during the Warring States Era the state of Qin created artificial waterways (such as the Chengkuo Canal) in order to give itself an advantage over its neighboring rival states. Hegemonic successor states in Eurasia tended to cluster around the Middle East for a period, using either the sea (Greece) or the fringe lands (Persia, Arabia). The focus of European hegemony moved west to Rome, then northwards to the Franks and the Holy Roman Empire. The Atlantic seaboard had its heyday (Spain, France, Britain) before the fringes of the European cultural area took over in the twentieth century (United States, Soviet Union).

Some regions show continually fluctuating areas of regional hegemony: India, for example, or the Balkans. Other regions show relative stability: northern China offers a case in point.

Long-lived hegemonies (China, Pax Sinica; Rome, Pax Romana) offer a contrast to shorter dominations: the Mongol Empire or Japan's Greater East Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere.

 

Resistance and survival

Conrad Phillip Kottak, in Window on Humanity (2004), explains hegemony in terms of ideologies that offer explanations about why the existing order is in everyone's interest. Many things are promised, but are said to take time and patience in order for them to happen.

 

References

 

See also

 

Hegemony

• Cultural hegemony

• Monetary Hegemony

• Dominant ideology

• Posthegemony

• Hegemonic masculinity

• Hegemony or Survival, a book by Noam Chomsky

• The Prince, a book by Niccolò Machiavelli

• Spartan hegemony (404 B.C.E. - 371 B.C.E.)

• Theban hegemony (371 B.C.E. - 362 B.C.E.)

 

Power

• Major powers

• Power (international)

• Middle power

• Great power

• Superpower

• Hyperpower

 

Other related concepts

• The White Man's Burden

• Liberal elite

• Groupthink

 

External links

• Hegemonism Hegemony at the Open Directory Project

• Stuart Hainsworth, "Gramsci's hegemony theory and the ideological role of the mass media"

• Mike Dorsher, Ph.D., "Hegemony Online: The Quiet Convergence of Power, Culture and Computers"

• Hegemony and the hidden persuaders - the power of un-common sense