It is my overall intention in this study to highlight the stability and or instability of hegemony within the global political economy. By drawing on the Cox-inspired neo-Gramscian perspectives within International Political Economy (IPE), this thesis argues that by focusing upon the societal forms of contestation within Russia a greater understanding can be placed on the development of concepts of hegemony and counter-hegemony in IPE. Whilst this thesis will draw upon the work of Cox, Gill and Murphy (to name but few) as the original 'constructors' of the neo-Gramscian school, it will move beyond their initial insights into how hegemony is perceived at a global level, by identifying firstly their initial theoretical shortcomings and secondly by looking at how hegemony is both super-structurally constructed at a global level and how it is contested in various forms at the local, national and international level. By looking at how counter-hegemonic projects are constructed and what form they take, this thesis provides a wider understanding of not just the potential instabilities that neoliberal hegemony contains, but also of the fragmentation and contradictions that are inherent within different counter-hegemonic projects. The situation in Russia both compliments and aids greater understanding of the nature of hegemonic stability. Whilst credible studies towards counterhegemony and contestation have been undertaken within IPE by Rupert, Castells and Gills, the historical development of ideological resistance to westerninspired global projects demonstrates that in countries such as Russia, moves towards harmonising neoliberal policies so that they contribute and interact with the interests of the global political economy as a whole prove problematic. By using the contested nature of civil society within Russia as a suitable case-study, this thesis argues whilst the global hegemonic order may appear stable, there are a multitude of different social forces that aim to challenge its legitimacy. In addition, these social forces are far more complex and fragmented that any neoGramscian study to date suggests.