Reconceptualizing hegemony in a global American century

Abstract

The concept of hegemony has been a mainstay in academic discourse since Greek writers coined the term during the conflicts between city states in ancient times. However, it was not until Antonio Gramsci produced his unfinished, seminal work, the Prison Notebooks, that the concept became a topic of intense discussion in the political sphere. Hegemony has been applied to the international global system relatively unchanged from Gramsci's social application of the concept. Whilst the underlying principles of Gramsci's conception can be applied in international relations without issue, some aspects are not so forthcoming. It is the intention of this paper to attempt to fill the void in international relations theory and provide a succinct and robust re-conception of Hegemony, how to attain it and maintain it. There will be no reinvention of the wheel; Hegemony will still mean dominance over all. Only now there will be a specific conception that can be applied to the current globalized liberal system. The Four Waves of Hegemony are presented here as an alternative to the current conception. Whilst there are inherent limitations mainly being the scope and size of the work presented, these are addressed and signposted for further research.

The Promised Spring: Death and Neoliberalism in Iraq

“…The process of globalisation is not some benign inevitable consequence of modernization, but a designed aspect of the process of hegemony. 'Through the systematic control by the US government and multinationals of globalising actors, such as the Bretton Woods institutions, communications and travel technology advancements, and the advancement of the neoliberal order,(…) the United States has been able to effectively build structures that perpetuate its own dominance' (Skerritt, 2019). In addition, through a process of macro-securitisation, relationships, agendas and security dynamics have been consolidated.…”