hegemonic
Exerting total dominance
Hegemonic describes dominance or control, especially by one group, nation, or social class over others.
The term carries connotations of power that operates not just through force but through cultural and ideological influence—shaping what seems normal or natural.
The hegemonic power of the United States shaped postwar international institutions.
Critics use hegemonic to characterize systems or ideas that maintain their dominance by making alternatives seem unthinkable: hegemonic masculinity, hegemonic discourse.
Highest rank or power
- predominanceSuperior influence or control
- ascendancyDominant power or influence
- preeminenceSuperior status above others
- controlAuthority to direct
dominion · overlordship · subjugation · prepotency · rule · command · sway · clout
Prison Notebooks author
- false consciousnessInternalized ideology against self-interest
- soft powerInfluence through appeal
- ideological controlShaping permitted beliefs
- subalternJunior commissioned officer
Marxism · social construction · Althusser · common sense · naturalization · legitimation
Domination through foreign settlement
- neocolonialismIndirect foreign domination
- expansionismPolicy of territorial growth
- colonizationForeign territorial takeover
- empireDomain under unified control
annexation · exploitation · conquest · occupation · protectorate · spheres of influence · manifest destiny · Eurocentrism
Dominant society imposing its ways
- WesternizationAdopting Western cultural practices
- AmericanizationAdopting US cultural norms
- homogenizationMaking things the same
- globalizationWorldwide economic and cultural integration
monoculture · lingua franca · mainstream · canonization · erasure · assimilation · acculturation · ethnocentrism
Rule by few
- autocracyRule by one
- dictatorshipUnchecked single-ruler government
- theocracyRule by religious authority
- authoritarianismConcentrated, unchecked governmental power
totalitarianism · junta · regime · one-party state · strongman · absolutism · centralized power · puppet state
supremacy
Highest rank or power
- predominanceSuperior influence or control
- ascendancyDominant power or influence
- preeminenceSuperior status above others
control · dominion · overlordship · subjugation · prepotency · rule · command · sway · clout · influence
Gramsci
Prison Notebooks author
- false consciousnessInternalized ideology against self-interest
- soft powerInfluence through appeal
- ideological controlShaping permitted beliefs
subaltern · Marxism · social construction · Althusser · common sense · naturalization · legitimation
colonialism
Domination through foreign settlement
- neocolonialismIndirect foreign domination
- expansionismPolicy of territorial growth
- colonizationForeign territorial takeover
empire · annexation · exploitation · conquest · occupation · protectorate · spheres of influence · manifest destiny · Eurocentrism · geopolitics
cultural imperialism
Dominant society imposing its ways
- WesternizationAdopting Western cultural practices
- AmericanizationAdopting US cultural norms
- homogenizationMaking things the same
globalization · monoculture · lingua franca · mainstream · canonization · erasure · assimilation · acculturation · ethnocentrism · universalism
oligarchy
Rule by few
- autocracyRule by one
- dictatorshipUnchecked single-ruler government
- theocracyRule by religious authority
authoritarianism · totalitarianism · junta · regime · one-party state · strongman · absolutism · centralized power · puppet state · client state
- male typesalpha male, beta male, sigma male, macho man, nice guy
hegemonicsubordinate
One lower in rank
subservient · dominated · subjugated · powerless · marginalized
hegemonicegalitarian
Equality principle supporter
pluralistic · multipolar · decentralized · democratic · anarchic
- cultural hegemonyDominant group's normalized beliefs