Eli5: What is hegemony?

636 views

I just don’t fully understand any explanation the internet or peers can provide.

In: Other

3 Answers

Anonymous 0 Comments

One group having some form of control over another group. In ancient Greece, where the term originates, these groups were city-states. A city-state was a “hegemon” of another if it was dominant militarily or politically.

Anonymous 0 Comments

Hegenomy in general is just the dominance and influence of one group over another. Usually the groups we are talking about it are political entities.

For example during colonialism there was considerable European hegenomy over the Africa and Asia. The relationship between Europe and their Asian/African colonies was mostly one way, in that it was European cultures, ideas, politics, and economics being enforced on the colonies.

More recently you can say there is American hegenomy: both in terms of military and just because America exports its culture to around the world. (Though maybe we are living through the start of the end of American hegenomy.)

Anonymous 0 Comments

It’s like the popular kids, but on a much larger scale. Like with whole ass countries.

“Can you use it in a sentence?”

Well I sure can! “The US has put in countless attempts of failed hegemony over the Middle East”