Association is a powerful tool. The word "hegemony" for many is associated with the concept of "working class". Those with whom this happens live on the territory of the former USSR. Communist propaganda did a great job of them in explaining the dominant role of the working class - the hegemon of a bright communist future. Here is an example of a persistent stereotype that you need to understand. What hegemons in the history of mankind were not ...
What is hegemony
The definition is associated with ancient history. For the ancient Greeks and Romans, the word sounded a little differently: “hegemon” or “hegemon”. So called the ancient leaders, military leaders, governors and even emperors. There is wonderful confirmation of this. Remember, the notorious prosecutor of Judea, Pontius Pilate, was called a hegemon.
Now it will be easier to understand what hegemony is. In short, this is an advantage and the ability to influence one person, a group of people or a country on others.
Alexander the Great and Napoleon Bonaparte
A hegemon can be a person. The first publicly and widely declared hegemon was Alexander the Great. He stood at the head of the ancient Corinthian Union, that is, became his hegemon.
The second classic example of personal hegemony is Napoleon Bonaparte in relation to the French Consulate (the cardboard likeness of the government, in fact, Napoleon solely ruled there).
An interesting historical example is the complete dominance, that is, hegemony, of the Kingdom of Prussia over the rest of the German provinces.
But Genghis Khan with his effective army did not pass into hegemony. Why? About it below.
The failure of the hegemony of the working class
What is hegemony in the USSR, everyone knew - from small to large. This is an interesting example of social and historical distortion of reality for the sake of the victory of a strange German idea called “communism”.
The workers were called the working class and appointed the main, that is, hegemon, in the construction of communism - all as comrades Marx and Engels wrote. Representatives of the hegemonic class were received in batches in the CPSU, persecuted to speak in the stands, elected deputies and sent for treatment to trade union sanatoriums. Nothing succeeded. Because hegemony is a subtle and definite concept, jokes are bad with it.
The difference between hegemony and dictatorship
The fact is that in numerous definitions that chew on what hegemony is, there is always its most important difference from any other forms of dictate or dominance.
Under hegemony, the conviction of other people or countries occurs without the use of force or threats of its use. The usefulness and expediency of submission to the hegemon is proved in other ways. This may be the financial impact of a rich country on poor countries. The submission of the weak to the strong is often covered by the ephemeral benefits for the weak. In fact, the hegemon always benefits.
Now it’s clear about Genghis Khan? There was one brute force. Not a hegemon.
Hegemony in the modern world
If you ask today's student what hegemony is, most likely you will receive a reference to the United States. This example of geopolitical domination has also become a classic. US world hegemony has become almost the only example that is already turning into a stereotype (instead of the working class).
Meanwhile, the hegemonic countries were different: in the 17th century it was Holland, in the 19th century Great Britain began to host and influence the world. Geopolitical hegemony is possible only with excellent indicators of the country's economic health combined with an advanced scientific and technical base. After all, we remember that hegemony is an influence without the use of force. Anything: money, brains, oil, human resources ... But not power. This is the main thing.
And do not forget about China. Some experts already recognize him as a world hegemon. This is due to different export growth rates and economic indicators. For most countries, the United States is still the global leader in the global community. But almost everyone admits that China will take the position of world hegemon in the future. The whole question is the timing of this event.
Let's observe and analyze. Monitoring modern geopolitical processes is a fascinating affair; it is more entertaining than many TV shows.