A fascinating history of the political theory of hegemony
Few terms are so widely used in the literature of international
relations and political science, with so little agreement about their
exact meaning, as hegemony.
In the first full historical study of its fortunes as a concept, Perry
Anderson traces its emergence in Ancient Greece and its rediscovery
during the upheavals of 1848-1849 in Germany. He then follows its
checkered career in revolutionary Russia, fascist Italy, Cold War
America, Gaullist France, Thatcher's Britain, post-colonial India,
feudal Japan, Maoist China, eventually arriving at the world of Merkel
and May, Bush and Obama.
The result is a surprising and fascinating expedition into global
intellectual history, ending with reflections on the contemporary
political landscape.