Fractured Consensus: Hegemony and Argumentation Theory

The popularity of the concept of 'hegemony' in political analysis has been as extensive as the criticism of its implications. For example, its assumption of a necessary homogenization of the normative space and its neglect to the resistance processes underlying any apparent consensus. This article seeks to interpret the concept in such a way that it responds to these objections and, additionally, that it can be operationalized as a model for understanding processes of formation, expansion and destruction of consensus in modern societies. In order to do this, it relies on a comprehension of political action as a kind of communication based on arguments, aimed at obtaining a majority recognition, but whose effectiveness which can be shown through some concepts of argumentation theory is always gradual and fragmentary.