The Dictionary of Human Geography

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rank as one of the most significant geograph-

ical theories of the twentieth century. It has

been claimed as central by various nationalists

and imperialists, from Nazi Germany to mod-

ern Russia and the United States. gk

Suggested readings

Kearns (1993); Mackinder (1919).

hegemony The capacity to exercise control

by means other than coercive force; namely,

through constructing a willing mass acquies-

cence towards, and participation in, social

projects that are beneficial only to an elite.

Hegemony is the dissemination of the values

and cultural practices of the elite in such a way

that they become unquestioned. Thus, in

everyday life the beliefs and values of the elite

are reinforced, and a hierarchical social order

is reinforced by the everyday actions (see

everyday life) of those who benefit less, if at

all, from its existence.

Contemporary usage of the term is derived

from the writings of Italian Marxist Antonio

Gramsci (Gramsci, 1971 [1929–35]) who,

while imprisoned by the Italianfascistregime

between 1928 and 1935, reflected upon how

the majority of citizens gave support to a re-

pressive social order. The Frankfurt School of

Marxism described how the post-1945 con-

sumerculturewas a form of hegemony, en-

trapping the working class in the pursuit of

material possessions rather than social change.

Cultural geographers have used these Marxist

foundations to explore the role oflandscape

andplacein perpetuating particular hege-

monic ideals (Martin, 2000a: seecultural

geography). Such works have extended the

Marxists’ original concentration uponclass

relations to questions ofraceandpatriarchy.

Particular attention has been paid to the prac-

tice of hegemony in colonial settings, especially

how thelandscapewas used to inculcate ideals

of racial hierarchy (McKinnon, 2005).

The term ‘hegemony’ has been utilized in a

complementary fashion in the analysis of inter-

state politics inpolitical geography, though

with the same roots and general meaning.

A hegemonic power is the single most powerful

statein the inter-state system. Though origin-

ally conceived in terms of materialpower(pro-

ductive capacity and military might), scholars

increasingly looked to the integrative power

of the hegemonic state, or its ability to set a

global agenda that, on the whole, other states

followed. Post-1945, the USA was identified

as the contemporary hegemonic state. Its

material power is complemented by its

dissemination of a ‘primemodernity’ (Taylor,

1999), or the definition of the ultimate modern

way of life. Connecting back to the Frankfurt

School, the US ‘prime modernity’ is the con-

sumer culture epitomized in itssuburbanlife-

style. Hegemony is maintained by other states’

desire to emulate this lifestyle and perceiving

the adoption of particular economic and polit-

ical practices as the means.

Hegemony, in both senses, is aprocess.

Hence, discussion has arisen of the way he-

gemony is resisted. In the first meaning of the

term, working-class and subaltern groups

have adopted cultural practices that run coun-

ter to hegemonic demands. In the second

meaning, discussion of the decline of

US power, the challenge of other states and

terroristgroups, and the meaning of ‘em-

pire’ question whether hegemonic rule is

being replaced by more coercive practices. A

counter-argument is found in the notion of

‘imperial overstretch’ in which hegemonic

states are eventually bankrupted by their over-

seas commitments and lose their primacy

(Kennedy, 1988). cf

Suggested reading

Agnew (2005a); Lears (1985).

heritage Although ‘heritage’ includes and

derives from a highly individualized notion of

personal inheritance or bequest (e.g. through

family wills and legacies),human geography

is concerned with collective notions of heritage

that link a group to a shared inheritance.

In this context, heritage usually denotes two

related sets of meanings. On the one hand,

it refers to iconiccultural landscapesor,

usually and more specifically, to tourism

sites with an historical theme that have often

been protected or preserved in some way for

the nation-state and become part of the ‘heri-

tage industry’; for example, a museum or an

archaeological site (Urry, 2002 [1990]). On

the other hand, heritage refers to a suite of

shared culturalvaluesandmemoriesinher-

ited over time and expressed through a variety

of culturalperformances– for example, song

or parade (Peckham, 2003). The basis of this

group identification varies across time and

space and can hinge on allegiance derived

from, for instance, a communal religious trad-

ition, a class formation, geographical propin-

quity, and a national or imperial identity

(Moore and Whelan, 2007).

Traditionally, historians and geographers

have viewed heritage sites as spaces for inscrib-

ing nationalist narratives of the past on to the

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HERITAGE