Hierarchy

The concept of hierarchy is used in two ways. First, hierarchy is understood as a continuum on which one actor has more or less political authority over other actors. In this conception, for example, liberal democracies with limited governments are less hierarchical than totalitarian states that in principle regulate all social interactions.

Second, more sociologically, hierarchy is defined as any form of social differentiation and stratification, such as caste, class, status, or any other dimension on which individuals, groups, or organizations can be categorized and ranked from higher to lower. In international politics, for instance, hierarchy most commonly refers to stratification by prestige (great powers, middle powers, and so on), development (first, third, and fourth worlds), or capabilities (superpowers, supporters, clients, etc.)

Hobbesian Hierarchy: The Political Economy of Political Organization, Annual review of political science [1094-2939] Lake yr:2009 vol:12 iss: 1