Hegemony means preponderance of one thing over another. It is the supremacy of a people over other peoples, that is, the superiority that a country has over others, thus becoming a sovereign State.
The State that holds the hegemony has influence in several areas, especially in economic, cultural, military power terms, such as weapons, planes, ammunition, and so on. Hegemony can also be in political terms.
Hegemony began in Ancient Greece, when three cities differed from the others: Sparta, Athens and Thebes, so the king of Macedonia decided to invade the Greece, and ended up joining other countries to overthrow the maritime hegemony that Greece held, and so Macedonia achieved political-military hegemony.
An Italian politician and scientist named Antonio Gramsci formulated the concept of hegemony. For Gramsci, hegemony is the dominance of one social class over others, in ideological terms, especially of the bourgeoisie with the working classes.
Conceptually, hegemony indicates a balance between dominance and leadership.
In a figurative sense, hegemony indicates the supremacy or power of one element over another, which can be people or things.
cultural hegemony
Cultural hegemony is a concept that indicates a preponderance of one culture over others. It does not mean that this culture is superior to all others, but that it is followed by the majority and has an impact on other cultures, often causing changes in them. It is the example of American culture, which has strongly influenced Western culture.
world hegemony
World hegemony has changed several times over the centuries, having passed through various empires, such as the Persian, Mongol, Roman, etc. Since the 20th century, the United States of America has exercised its hegemony in the world.
In more recent times, in most cases, the major world powers exercise their influence peacefully, through political mechanisms. Despite this, in some cases armed conflicts occur.