Hegemony

"Hegemon" redirects here. For other uses, see Hegemon (disambiguation).

Ancient Greece under the hegemony of Thebes, 371–362 BC

Hegemony (/hɛˈdʒɛməni/ ⓘ, UK also /hɪˈɡɛməni/, US also /ˈhɛdʒəmoʊni/) is the political, economic, and military predominance of one state over other states, either regional or global.[1][2][3]

In Ancient Greece (ca. 8th BC – AD 6th c.), hegemony denoted the politico-military dominance of the hegemon city-state over other city-states.[4] In the 19th century, hegemony denoted the "social or cultural predominance or ascendancy; predominance by one group within a society or milieu" and "a group or regime which exerts undue influence within a society".[5]

In theories of imperialism, the hegemonic order dictates the internal politics and the societal character of the subordinate states that constitute the hegemonic sphere of influence, either by an internal, sponsored government or by an external, installed government. The term hegemonism denoted the geopolitical and the cultural predominance of one country over other countries, e.g. the hegemony of the Great Powers established with European colonialism in Africa, Asia, and Latin America.[6] In International Relations theories, hegemony is distinguished from empire as ruling only external but not internal affairs of other states.[7]

  1. ^ Mearsheimer, John J. (2001). "Chapter 2". The Tragedy of Great Power Politics. W. W. Norton & Company. ISBN 978-0-393-34927-6.
  2. ^ Schenoni, Luis L. (2019). "Hegemony". Oxford Research Encyclopedia of International Studies. Oxford University Press and International Studies Association, LLC. doi:10.1093/acrefore/9780190846626.013.509. ISBN 978-0190846626.
  3. ^ "Hegemony". Oxford Advanced American Dictionary. Dictionary.com, LLC. 2014. Archived from the original on 3 February 2014. Retrieved 1 February 2014.
  4. ^ Chernow, Barbara A.; Vallasi, George A., eds. (1994). The Columbia Encyclopedia (5th ed.). New York: Columbia University Press. p. 1215. ISBN 0-231-08098-0.
  5. ^ "hegemony". Oxford English Dictionary (Online ed.). Oxford University Press. (Subscription or participating institution membership required.) (Definitions 2a and 2b)
  6. ^ Bullock, Alan; Trombley, Stephen, eds. (1999). The New Fontana Dictionary of Modern Thought (3rd ed.). London: HarperCollins. pp. 387–388. ISBN 0-00-255871-8.
  7. ^ Snyder, Jack (2002) "The myths of empire and strategies of hegemony," Lessons of Empire: Imperial Histories and American Power, (eds. Craig Calhoun, Frederick Cooper and Kevin Moore, New York: The New Press), p 270.