Towards a post-hegemonic world order? : a "neo"-neo Gramscian perspective

Abstract

The Neo-Gramscian perspective first pioneered by Robert W. Cox has made some important contributions to expanding traditional IR theory, offering a useful array of tools and concepts to better comprehend and analyze the world order. Nevertheless, it is argued here, the ontological and epistemological positions Neo-Gramscians adopted led them to misread Gramsci, effectively stripping him of his Marxist vestiges and inadvertently dressing him up in liberal clothing, expressed in their ontological dualism and erroneous empirical conclusions with regards the contemporary world order. Drawing on a more materialist reading of Gramsci, as well as the work of other key scholars, the Neo-Neo Gramscian approach forwarded here seeks to elaborate a more convincing theoretical framework to study the evolution and changing nature of world hegemony -specifically American hegemony- since its `establishment' in the mid-1940s. Globalisation, the rise of a transnational elite, the emergence of competing powers (notably China) have all been offered as evidence to support the claim that we are witnessing the demise of American hegemony, and as such are entering a new post-hegemonic phase in world order. The evidence presented in this thesis seems to indicate that such affirmations are premature.