Political struggle, not military force, determines hegemonic outcomes

Evidence

Gramsci reminds us, however, that even this extraordinary degree of organic unity does not guarantee the outcome of specific struggles, which can be won or lost on the outcome of the decisive tactical issue of the military and politico-military relations of force. He insists, however, that “politics must have priority over its military aspect, and only politics creates the possibility for manoeuvre and movement” (PN, 232). — Stuart Hall, Essential Essays, Volume 2, 105

Categorization

• XREF: Connects to the necropolitics/sovereignty readings later in the module — the precedence of political over military maneuver clarifies Gramsci’s distance from pure coercive power. — connects to: Demand meanings get fixed only through hegemonic struggles over frontiers. — Ernesto Laclau, On Populist Reason, 266