21st-Century Neo-Colonialism: A Political Economy Analysis of Ideological Hegemony, Institutional Capture, and Economic Coercion in the Global South

This study reexamines neo-colonialism in the 21st century through a political economy analysis that foregrounds ideological hegemony and structural dependence as mutually reinforcing mechanisms shaping state behavior and development outcomes in the Global South. Anchored in Gramscian theory of hegemony and Dependency/World-Systems perspectives, the paper argues that contemporary domination is less reliant on territorial occupation and more dependent on the orchestration of consent, institutional capture, and calibrated economic coercionUsing a qualitative secondary methodology, the study synthesizes peer-reviewed scholarship, policy documents, and historical political economy analyses to trace how sanctions regimes, conditional finance, trade rules, and narrative framing operate as instruments of power in a formally sovereign international system. The findings suggest that ideological leadership and material constraints function together: hegemonic ideas legitimize asymmetric arrangements, while dependency structures lock peripheral economies into vulnerable positions within the world economy Institutional capture, via regulatory standards, multilateral governance, and financial intermediation that mediates these pressures, translating external preferences into domestic policy outcomes. By integrating the two theories, the study demonstrates that neo-colonialism today is best understood as a hybrid regime of power that blends consent-manufacturing with structural compulsion. The paper concludes with implications for development strategy in the Global South, emphasizing diversification, regional cooperation, and institutional capacity-building as pathways to widen policy autonomy within a constrained global order.