ABSTRACT
This chapter outlines an analytical framework, adapted from Gramscian theory, that examines US democracy promotion in the Middle East, and the case studies of Egypt, Iraq and Kuwait. It analyses the concept of hegemony, which is central and then examines the role assumed by ideology in the hegemonic process, and actual meaning of democracy in the context of US foreign policy. It then discusses the achievement of hegemony is rooted in civil society and its institutions. Finally it explores the process of hegemony in terms of the Middle East, highlighting the challenges faced by the strategy of democracy promotion from counter-hegemonic forces under the banner of political Islam. Civil society therefore serves as the focal point of the hegemonic process; it is here that the promoted ideology is debated, contested and, if accepted, eventually internalised. The value of the neo-Gramscian approach lies in the fact that it transcends many of the traditional assumptions and debates within international relations (IR) theory.
