現有國際關係對於霸權的已有論述，大多試圖描述國際體系出現逐霸國家的原因，卻少有探索逐霸國家的行為策略，對於逐霸國家如何克服各種挑戰，組建層級霸權秩序，尚未提出具體的分析模型。本文擬填補逐霸理論空白，概念化逐霸國家行為，提出逐霸分析架構，觀察逐霸國家在逐霸過程中如何克服競逐資格，地位汰除，以及新層級秩序組建的三大挑戰。戰國時代秦國先後淘汰魏國、楚國與齊國等逐霸競爭對手的歷程，是本文的研究樣本。公元前356年秦孝公變法改革，秦國強固內部統治權威，運用內部權力成長途徑（Internal Power Enhancing Approach），構建不敗的禦外自固優勢，促成抗衡失靈（Balancing Failure），分化競爭者陣營，克敵以剷除競爭對手，最後以無敵優勢，組建國際層級霸權秩序。

Existing International Relations Studies’ arguments on the hegemony are mostly satisfied with describing the birth of hegemon in the international system, but rarely explored its behavior and strategies for obtaining the supreme status of hegemony. There is no specific research framework for exploring how the aspiring hegemon overcomes challenges and establishes a hierarchical hegemonic order in the international society. This paper intends to fill the theoretical gap of hegemony studies, conceptualizes aspiring hegemon’s behavior, proposes an analytical framework, and observes how aspiring hegemon overcames the three major challenges of competition qualification, status elimination, and the formation of a new hierarchical order in the hegemony quest process. During the Warring States Period, Qin successively eliminates Wei State, Chu State, Qi State and other rivals, which is the research sample of this paper. In 356 BC, Qin Xiaogong started reform. The Qin strengthened its internal ruling authority, built up with internal power enhancing approach, obtained an invincible advantage to defend itself against its rivals, facilitated balancing-failure, and differentiated competitors. The Qin overcame its rivals and eventually used the invincible power supremacy to form an international hegemonic order. This article concludes that the analysis framework that this article proposes could be able to describe different forms of hegemony, lays a starting point for the in-depth aspiring hegemon research, and increases our understanding to aspiring hegemon’s seek for global hegemony.