Gramscian Theory in Social Dynamics

Antonio Gramsci’s theoretical framework examines how power is sustained in modern societies through a combination of coercion and consent rather than force alone. Central to his analysis is the concept of hegemony, whereby ruling groups secure the active approval of subordinate classes by embedding their worldview into culture, institutions and everyday practices. Civil society emerges as the primary terrain for this ideological struggle, while political society represents the repressive apparatus of the state. Gramsci’s notion of historic bloc describes the alignment of social forces that stabilises a particular social order, and his conception of the integral state integrates both civil and political society into a unified structure of power. Emphasising praxis, Gramsci highlights the reciprocal role of intellectuals and ordinary people in constructing and contesting hegemonic projects. This conceptual apparatus has been applied to analyse phenomena ranging from labour movements to community policing, post-colonial resistance and global governance, demonstrating how culture, ideology and political practice interconnect in processes of social change.

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Technical terms

Hegemony: The process by which a dominant group secures the consent of subordinate groups by embedding its cultural and ideological norms into social institutions.

Common sense: The assemblage of everyday beliefs and assumptions that appear natural but reflect deeper ideological structures.

Civil society: The network of non-state institutions, cultural organisations and associations through which ideas are disseminated and contested.

Historic bloc: The strategic alliance of social groups, institutions and ideas that underpins a particular social formation or regime of power.

Integral state: Gramsci’s conception of the state as encompassing both its coercive apparatus and the cultural-ideological institutions of civil society.

References

1. ‘Stretch’ and ‘Translate’: Gramscian Lineages, Fanonist Convergences in the (Post)Colony. Historical Materialism (2023).
2. Deciphering everyday meaning-making with Gramsci. Dialectical Anthropology (2022).
3. The spatial dimension of shifting commonsensical understandings. Dialectical Anthropology (2022).