Hegemony works by winning consent backed by coercion, not by force alone.

Evidence

Despite his continuing stress on experience and intention, this definition of “dominant culture” in Williams clearly owes a great deal to Gramsci’s pivotal and commanding notion of hegemony (Prison Notebooks ). Gramsci argued that “hegemony” exists when a ruling class (or, rather, an alliance of ruling class fractions, a “historical bloc”) is able not only to coerce a subordinate class to conform to its interests, but exerts a “total social authority” over those classes and the social formation as a whole. “Hegemony” is in operation when the dominant class fractions not only dominate but direct or lead: when they not only possess the power to coerce but actively organize so as to command and win the consent of the subordinated classes to their continuing sway. “Hegemony” thus depends on a combination of force and consent. But—Gramsci argues—in the liberal-capitalist state, consent is normally in the lead, operating behind “the armour of coercion.” — Hall, Stuart, Essential Essays, Volume 1, 905

Categorization

• DEFINE: The core precis of Gramsci’s hegemony: command and consent, force under an armour of coercion.
• XREF: Connects to any reader’s prior knowledge of Gramsci via political theory. In this volume it also sets up Hall’s later uses of hegemony in cultural studies. — connects to: Under hegemony, organized consent displaces direct coercion as the main instrument; Hegemony combines coercion with actively won consent, with consent in the lead; Hegemony must be actively won and can be lost, never permanent (+14 more)
• corroborated: 2 independent passages support this claim — Hall, Stuart, Essential Essays, Volume 1, 905

Broader Connections

• Hegemony operates through winning consent backed by the threat of force. #corroborates (0.95)
• Legitimacy and physical force are symbolically interlinked, not opposites #corroborates (0.82) — Niklas Luhmann, Trust and Power, 717
• Authority builds from accumulated past compliance without requiring ongoing justification #expands (0.72)
• Social control includes winning consent, not just coercive punishment #expands (0.70)
• Legal obligation differs from mere coercion by threat of force #qualifies (0.50) — Ronald M. Dworkin, The Model of Rules, 40