Hegemony in International Politics: Conceptuap Framework, Historical Experience and Its Future

The concept of hegemony was first used in the third decade of the 20th centuty to analyze internal politics and it was only aftre 1960's that this term entered the domain of international politics. During 1970's the theorists of international political economy used the tern as a pivotal concept, but in fact it was only at the post cold war era that many debates began on this subject.In this article, hegemony is studied as an important concept in many different theories and ideas of international relations, which is equally very influential in the domain of international politics. Different views on hegemony are presented and studied in order to illustrate the reason behind the emergence, function, continuance and fall of a hegemonic power. The present situation of international politics as well as pro and con views of the American hegemony during last decades are also studied.