Look at the following cartoon and answer the question that follow:

The above cartoon shows Hegemony as ____.

Hard power

The correct answer is option 3 - Hard power.

The above cartoon shows Hegemony as hard power. The soldier is carrying the flag of USA on its back. The soldier in the image is a clear symbol of military force, which is a form of hard power. The map of the world on the soldier's pants further reinforces the idea of global dominance or influence through military might.

Hegemony as Hard Power:

The roots of the word hegemony lie in classical Greek. The word implies the leadership or predominance of one state, and was originally used to denote the preponderant position of Athens vis-à-vis the other city-states of ancient Greece. Thus, the first meaning of hegemony relates to the relations, patterns and balances of military capability between states. It is this notion of hegemony as military preponderance that is especially germane to the current position and role of the US in world politics.

The bedrock of contemporary US power lies in the overwhelming superiority of its military power. American military dominance today is both absolute and relative. In absolute terms, the US today has military capabilities that can reach any point on the planet accurately, lethally and in real time, thereby crippling the adversary while its own forces are sheltered to the maximum extent possible from the dangers of war.

But even more awesome than the absolute capabilities of the US is the fact that no other power today can remotely match them. The US today spends more on its military capability than the next 12 powers combined. Furthermore, a large chunk of the Pentagon’s budget goes into military research and development, or, in other words, technology. Thus, the military dominance of the US is not just based on higher military spending, but on a qualitative gap, a technological chasm that no other power can at present conceivably span.