Hegemony and Woke Strategy

Hegemony and Woke Strategy explores how wokeism functions as a distinct ideological force within the contemporary culture war, challenging liberal and socialist traditions through strategic uses of identity politics. Grounded in Gramscian theory and informed by poststructuralist and Marxist scholarship, Lars Erik Gjerde analyzes how cultural struggle operates as a bid for hegemony. He moves beyond defining wokeism to examine its tactics, such as cancellations, language politics, and woke capitalism, and how they shape political discourse and social norms. With an international scope and a focus on the Western context, Gjerde combines theoretical analysis with real-world examples from pop culture, campus politics, and policy debates to show how wokeism rearticulates and subverts earlier ideological frameworks. This book is intended for scholars and advanced students in political theory, cultural studies and sociology. It will also appeal to researchers interested in ideology, identity politics, and the intersection of culture and power in shaping contemporary political dynamics.