The U.S. Between Empire and Hegemony
Period of Revolution and Early Republic
A historical-sociological account of how class alliances, economic transformation, and federal institutions laid the foundations of American hegemony.
Assistant Professor · Research Associate
Aleksandar
Korolija.
Research on hegemony, imperialism, and the historical formation of American power. Books, peer-reviewed articles, essays, and videos in one place.
01Books
Long-form arguments.
Three books tracing ideology, imperial power, and the formation of U.S. hegemony.
The U.S. Between Empire and Hegemony
The Period of Expansion (1796–1824)
The second volume follows territorial expansion, economic change, and crises of political leadership from the fall of the Federalists to the fragmentation of the Republican bloc.
Theory of Ideological Hegemony and Imperial Phase of Capitalism
Ideology, institutions, and the world system
A theoretical synthesis of Marx, Gramsci, and Althusser, developing the concept of imperial ideological apparatuses.
02Articles · 8 papers
Research in print.
Browse the eight papers currently listed on my Academia.edu profile. Each entry links to the journal or paper page.
The Formation of the U.S. Hegemonic Revolutionary Bloc, 1763–1776
A study of how merchants, landowners, artisans, and yeomen formed a revolutionary alliance through conflict and institutional change.
Read articleThe American Boycott of British Goods, 1764–1770: A Marcusean Critique of the Marketplace of Revolution
Uses Marcuse and class analysis to examine the limits of colonial boycotts as a challenge to consumer society.
Read articleExtractive Imperialism and the Experiences of the “Lithium Triangle”
Examines lithium extraction in Chile, Argentina, and Bolivia, including conflicts involving global capital, governments, and local communities.
Read articleHigher Education and the Reproduction of the World System
Connects higher education and migration of skilled workers to unequal relations between core and peripheral countries.
Read articleСтруктурна ограничења деловања нових друштвених покрета
A Gramscian analysis of the structural limits and transformative strategies of new social movements.
Read articleГрамши у Индији
Explores how Subaltern Studies applies Gramsci’s ideas to Indian history, peasant politics, and nationalist movements.
Read articleJedan, dva ili više imperijalizama?
Revisits the concept of imperialism through Marxist and world-systems theory in a changing geopolitical setting.
Read articleDistinkcija građanskog i političkog društva u delu Gramšija
Examines Gramsci’s distinction between civil and political society and its implications for hegemony, domination, and the state.
Read article03Essays · 15 pieces
Essays and ideas.
Scroll through individual essays on theory, the American Revolution, the early republic, and U.S. expansion. Open any piece on Substack to read it in full.
Theoretical-Methodological Framework of Hegemonization
Introduces a Gramscian framework for analyzing the formation of American hegemony.
Read essayWas Colonial America Really an Equal Society?
Questions familiar claims about equality in colonial America by examining its social structure.
Read essayThe Manufacturing Basis of the U.S. Revolutionary Hegemony
Considers colonial manufacturing as a material foundation of revolutionary politics.
Read essayClass Struggle, Ideology, and the American Boycott of British Goods, 1764–1770
Examines boycotts through the interests of different colonial classes and the ideology of resistance.
Read essayThe Role of Colonial Assemblies in Establishing U.S. Revolutionary Hegemony
Looks at colonial assemblies as institutions shaping political leadership before independence.
Read essayU.S. Continental Congress as a Hegemonic Apparatus
Explores the Continental Congress as a center of coordination and leadership during the Revolution.
Read essayThe U.S. Revolutionary Hegemonic Bloc: Radicals, Conservatives, and Moderates in 1776
Traces competing positions within the revolutionary alliance at the moment of independence.
Read essayThe Hegemonic Role of the U.S. Revolutionary Army
Considers the army’s role in holding together and advancing the revolutionary project.
Read essayThe Formation of the U.S. Hegemonic Revolutionary Bloc, 1763–1776
An accessible account of how colonial class alliances developed and became organized during the revolutionary crisis.
Read essayFormation of U.S. Security Apparatus, 1783–1795
Follows the early federal debate over military power, militias, internal rebellion, and frontier conflict.
Read essayThe First Bank of the United States as an Apparatus of Hegemony
Examines federal finance and the political role of the First Bank in the early republic.
Read essayEarly U.S. Relations with Great Powers: Contradiction between Trade and Neutrality
Explores the tensions between commercial interests and neutrality in early U.S. foreign policy.
Read essayU.S. Conquests, 1804–1819: Expansion Gains Momentum
Discusses the momentum of U.S. territorial expansion in the early nineteenth century.
Read essayThe U.S. Imperial Tendencies
Examines emerging imperial tendencies in the expansion of American power.
Read essayAesop, Gramsci and the Ideological Hegemony
Uses Aesop and Gramsci to reflect on the workings of ideological hegemony.
Read essay04About
The questions behind the work.
Assistant Professor · Research Associate
Aleksandar Korolija is an assistant professor and research associate in sociology. His work connects political theory, historical sociology, and political economy. He examines how hegemony is formed and maintained through class alliances, institutions, ideology, and the unequal relations of the world system.
His books on the early United States investigate the relation between territorial expansion and political leadership. His theoretical work studies the institutions through which power is reproduced beyond the nation-state.