In light of the recent turmoil that has engulfed the Middle East recently, one may think that a new Middle East is emerging, however, due to recent setbacks, one may think the opposite and that the “old” Middle East is making a comeback. Both might be right, on the one hand it can be said that the region is in the throes of a transitional period to a more democratic future, while on the other hand it can be seen that the new rulers installed after the Arab Spring appear to be backsliding into old ways of dictatorship and autocracy. It may be tempting for the reader to conclude that the indigenous factors in the region are responsible for this reversal; however it may be more complex than it would seem.
While one might say that the kind of …show more content…
In this sense it can surmised as movements from above providing guidance and orientation to those on the bottom having them accept the current state of affairs as “natural” by which the state could be able mediate and provide an avenue for their grievances tying into the first essay mentioned in the above. Though Gramsci’s analysis was more concerned with the political realm, he would also note the cultural effects of hegemony by noting the ideological apparatus on how the dominant intellectuals sell their visions. In relation to the state, Gramsci’s theory of hegemony would come to illustrate the purpose of intellectuals “guiding” the common man into abandoning his native tongue and speaking the national language, as noted in his description on how formal Italian spread after unification by the use of the Tuscan dialect that would supersede the other regional dialects by the way of formal schooling that consolidated the Italian nation (Gramsci 1985: 165-7; see also Ibid 167-71). In that sense it can be surmised that cultural hegemony has the same organizational skills as political hegemony, as it is known through the use of what scholars call an ideological state apparatus in which the ruling class forms a monopoly on the pedagogical instruments of state power for the purpose of molding the general population to its will (Althusser 2001/1971:
While one might say that the kind of …show more content…
In this sense it can surmised as movements from above providing guidance and orientation to those on the bottom having them accept the current state of affairs as “natural” by which the state could be able mediate and provide an avenue for their grievances tying into the first essay mentioned in the above. Though Gramsci’s analysis was more concerned with the political realm, he would also note the cultural effects of hegemony by noting the ideological apparatus on how the dominant intellectuals sell their visions. In relation to the state, Gramsci’s theory of hegemony would come to illustrate the purpose of intellectuals “guiding” the common man into abandoning his native tongue and speaking the national language, as noted in his description on how formal Italian spread after unification by the use of the Tuscan dialect that would supersede the other regional dialects by the way of formal schooling that consolidated the Italian nation (Gramsci 1985: 165-7; see also Ibid 167-71). In that sense it can be surmised that cultural hegemony has the same organizational skills as political hegemony, as it is known through the use of what scholars call an ideological state apparatus in which the ruling class forms a monopoly on the pedagogical instruments of state power for the purpose of molding the general population to its will (Althusser 2001/1971: