• Hegemony is the leadership or dominance of a singe state or social group over others.
• An example could be the unification of Germany under Prussian hegemony in 1871, when the scattered German states and kingdom were unified under a single country.
• Another example could be the USSR, which achieved hegemony across almost all of eastern Europe and western Asia under its socialist union.

• Hegemony can be achieved more strategically like in the unification of Germany where most kingdoms joined out of their own will (usually due to a conflict or polarizing situation) or it can be achieved more forcefully by annexation.