Portrait of Niccolò Machiavelli by Santi di Tito http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/e2/Portrait_of_Niccol%C3%B2_Machiavelli_by_Santi_di_Tito.jpg
Italian Renaissance Put into Context
Il Principe must have been the most well-known political treatise in the history of western political philosophy. The book successfully turned the author’s name into a rather negative term to characterize amoral politicians with ‘evil’ behaviors. To gain insight of why “Machiavellianism” was endorsed in the book during the Renaissance, this third installment in the series of historical antecedents of Realist IR theories will first deal with the context of the era in which Niccolò Machiavelli lived before discussing the content of the book.
Machiavelli was born at Florence, Italy, on 3rd May 1469, a turbulent era in which Italian city-states were in constant battle for regional influence and control. Italy would not be unified until four centuries later, and during the Renaissance Italy was divided into a number of warring northern-central Italian city-states, larger Papal States, and Naples. Florence, Milan, and Venice emerged as the dominant players that agreed to the Peace of Lodi in 1454, which saw relative calm brought to the region for the first time in centuries. However, Italian city-states soon fell into wars between 1494 and 1559 ignited by the rivalry between France and Spain, gradually lost their independence, and came under Spanish domination in 1559.
Machiavelli became official of the Florentine Republic after the Medici family, who had been ruling over Florence for sixty years, was expelled in 1494. He carried out several diplomatic missions; most notably to the Papacy in Rome, in the Italian states. He became witness of the Cesare Borgia's state-building, supported by his father Pope Alexander VI, that tried to bring a large part of central Italy under their possession through military means, justifying so by the pretext of defending Church interests. Machiavelli was trusted the Florentine militia in 1503 and staffed his army with citizens. He distrusted mercenaries due to their unpatriotic nature, making their allegiance fickle and often to waver when most needed. Under Machiavelli's command, Florentine citizen-soldiers defeated Pisa in 1509.
Machiavelli was deprived of office in 1512 after the Medici defeated the Florentines at Prato, exiled then Florentine head of state Piero Soderini, and dissolved the city-state and republic. The Medici accused Machiavelli of conspiracy against them and had him imprisoned and tortured. However, he denied involvement and was released after three weeks. He then retired and devoted himself to study and to the writing of the political treatises. This was around the time when he wrote Il Principe.
Machiavelli’s Il Principe (The Prince)
Il Principe is one of the first works of modern political philosophy in which the effective truth is taken to be more important than any abstract ideal (what "it is" is more important than what "it should be"). Il Principe proposes that a prince can justify the use of immoral means to achieve the ends such as glory and survival: "he who neglects what is done for what ought to be done, sooner effects his ruin than his preservation" (Il Principe Chapter XV). Because of that, Il Principe came in direct conflict with the dominant Catholic and scholastic doctrines of the time concerning how to consider politics and ethics.
The subject matter in Il Principe is new princedoms; meaning the state acquired not through hereditary, but through arms, fortune, or ability (Il Principe Chapter I and II). The strength of all principalities ought to be measured by "whether a prince has such power that, in case of need, he can support himself with his own resources, or whether he has always need of the assistance of others" (Il Principe Chapter X).
Having discussed the importance of defense and military, Il Principe turns to state that "the chief foundations of all states, new as well as old or composite, are good laws and good arms" (Il Principe Chapter XII). A self-sufficient prince should be "armed" with his own arms, warned Machiavelli, as he opposed the use of mercenaries, believing that they were useless to a ruler because they were undisciplined, cowardly, and without any loyalty, being motivated only by money. Il Principe warned against using auxiliary forces, troops borrowed from an ally, because if they won, the employer was under their favor and if they lost, he was ruined (Il Principe Chapter XIII). Machiavelli advised that "a prince ought to have no other aim or thought, nor select anything else for his study, than war and its rules and discipline" (Il Principe Chapter XIV). The two activities Machiavelli recommended a prince practice to prepare for war were physical and mental: to learn the landscape of his territories and to study of past military events.
Machiavelli's pragmatic ideal can be seen most clearly in the next chapters of Il Principe. Concerning qualities for which princes were praised, Machiavelli encouraged that a prince should not be overly concerned about having all the good ones, since most important is only to seem to have these qualities. Machiavelli believed it was necessary for a prince "to know how to do wrong, and to make use of it or not according to necessity" (Il Principe Chapter XV). If a prince was overly generous to his subjects, Machiavelli asserted he would not be appreciated, and will only cause greed for more. When resources were exhausted, and the prince decided to discontinue or limit his generosity, he would be labeled as a miser. "Therefore, any one wishing to maintain among men the name of liberal is obliged to avoid no attribute of magnificence" (Il Principe Chapter XVI).
Machiavelli's pragmatism continued in the next chapters. Concerning cruelty and clemency, Machiavelli wrote, "one should wish to be both, but, because it is difficult to unite them in one person, it is much safer to be feared than loved, when, of the two, either must be dispensed with," yet a prince ought to inspire fear in such a way that "if he does not win love, he avoids hatred" (Il Principe Chapter XVII). Fear is simply a means to an end, and that end is security for the prince.
Il Principe Chapter XVIII "Concerning the Way in which Princes Should Keep Faith" was noted as having "given greater offence than any other portion of Machiavelli's writings" by L.A. Burd in his edition of Il Principe (1891), p. 297. Here Machiavelli proposed that a prince should only keep his word when it suits his purposes, and to neglect faith "when such observance may be turned against him, and when the reasons that caused him to pledge it exist no longer." A prince should not break his word unnecessarily, and should avoid being despised and hated so that he was not easily conspired against. Machiavelli encourage that a prince "ought to have two fears, one from within, on account of his subjects, the other from without, on account of external powers," the former secured by avoiding being hated and despised, and by keeping the people satisfied with him (Il Principe Chapter XIX).
The rest of Il Principe dealt with the prudence of the prince. Machiavelli opposed use of fortresses in conquered territories (Chapter XX); encouraged that a prince truly gained renown by completing great enterprises (Chapter XXI); wrote concerning the secretaries of princes (Chapter XXII); and proposed to avoid flatterers (Chapter XXIII). Machiavelli also wrote about prudence and chance, "Why the Princes of Italy Lost Their States" (Chapter XXIV), concerning fortune (Chapter XXV), and "An Exhortation to Seize Italy and to Free Her from the Barbarians" (Chapter XXVI).
Analysis of Il Principe; Its Influence to Realism
It is believed that Machiavelli had written Il Principe in 1513 for the instruction of the Medici after they had just regained power in Florence; Machiavelli wrote in his letter of dedication that his work was dedicated to "The Magnificent Lorenzo di Piero de' Medici." That led some authors to interpret Il Principe as political satire or as deceit. Jean-Jacques Rousseau was one who said Il Principe as a satire in his Social Contract, Book 3, n. 23. Antonio Gramsci argued that the purported audience for Il Principe was the common people to learn the methods of the ruling class. Mary G. Dietz (1986) even commented that Machiavelli's intention was "to undo Lorenzo de Medici by giving him advice that would jeopardize his power, hasten his overthrow, and allow for the resurgence of the Florentine republic" (Dietz (1986) "Trapping the Prince: Machiavelli and the Politics of Deception", The American Political Science Review, Vol. 80, No. 3 (Sep., 1986), p.777-799)" Dietz argued that Machiavelli encouraged the prince to live in the city he conquers to makes it easier for rebels or a civilian militia to attack and overthrow the prince. Machiavelli also supported arming the people despite the fact that he knew the Florentines were decidedly pro-democratic and would oppose the prince.
Whether Il Principe was truly intended as a political satire and as deceit or not, the work was one of the first works that emphasized the need for realism as opposed to idealism. Machiavelli did not explain what he thinks the best ethical or political goals were; he took it for granted that would-be leaders naturally aim at glory and survival. Machiavelli believed that a strong state was one that could defend itself and didn't need to depend on allies. It complied with the Realist assumption that states must arrive at relations with other states on their own, rather than it being dictated to them by some higher controlling entity. It also preceded Realist proposal that the primary concern of all states was survival, which required strong military, leading Machiavelli to propose a prince to prepare for war even in peace times.
Machiavelli was born in an era of constant antagonism in Italy, leading him to emphasize power politics. He denied of the power of justice and was sensitive to harsh necessity and elusive chance. He was also in favor of balancing in regard of two warring states, similar to what Kenneth Waltz later suggested in his 1979 Theory of International Politics:
"... when a prince declares himself gallantly in favour of one side, if the party with whom he allies himself conquers, although the victor may be powerful and may have him at his mercy, yet he is indebted to him, and there is established a bond of amity; and men are never so shameless as to become a monument of ingratitude by oppressing you. Victories after all are never so complete that the victor must not show some regard, especially to justice. But if he with whom you ally yourself loses, you may be sheltered by him, and whilst he is able he may aid you, and you become companions on a fortune that may rise again." (Il Principe Chapter XXI)
Martin Wight listed Machiavelli as one of four seminal thinkers in international theory in his book Wight, Martin (2005) Four Seminal Thinkers in International Theory: Machiavelli, Grotius, Kant, and Mazzini; writing "his name became a byword in the sixteenth century for the slick, unprincipled trickster in politics, the sneaking assassin with a stiletto, or the masterly diplomatic operator, aiming at success" (p.3). Machiavelli might have not been the advocate of unscrupulous politicians described in his Il Principe, but his work had been a reader in Realist IR theories for its contribution to Renaissance political realism.
Il Principe must have been the most well-known political treatise in the history of western political philosophy. The book successfully turned the author’s name into a rather negative term to characterize amoral politicians with ‘evil’ behaviors. To gain insight of why “Machiavellianism” was endorsed in the book during the Renaissance, this third installment in the series of historical antecedents of Realist IR theories will first deal with the context of the era in which Niccolò Machiavelli lived before discussing the content of the book.
Machiavelli was born at Florence, Italy, on 3rd May 1469, a turbulent era in which Italian city-states were in constant battle for regional influence and control. Italy would not be unified until four centuries later, and during the Renaissance Italy was divided into a number of warring northern-central Italian city-states, larger Papal States, and Naples. Florence, Milan, and Venice emerged as the dominant players that agreed to the Peace of Lodi in 1454, which saw relative calm brought to the region for the first time in centuries. However, Italian city-states soon fell into wars between 1494 and 1559 ignited by the rivalry between France and Spain, gradually lost their independence, and came under Spanish domination in 1559.
Machiavelli became official of the Florentine Republic after the Medici family, who had been ruling over Florence for sixty years, was expelled in 1494. He carried out several diplomatic missions; most notably to the Papacy in Rome, in the Italian states. He became witness of the Cesare Borgia's state-building, supported by his father Pope Alexander VI, that tried to bring a large part of central Italy under their possession through military means, justifying so by the pretext of defending Church interests. Machiavelli was trusted the Florentine militia in 1503 and staffed his army with citizens. He distrusted mercenaries due to their unpatriotic nature, making their allegiance fickle and often to waver when most needed. Under Machiavelli's command, Florentine citizen-soldiers defeated Pisa in 1509.
Machiavelli was deprived of office in 1512 after the Medici defeated the Florentines at Prato, exiled then Florentine head of state Piero Soderini, and dissolved the city-state and republic. The Medici accused Machiavelli of conspiracy against them and had him imprisoned and tortured. However, he denied involvement and was released after three weeks. He then retired and devoted himself to study and to the writing of the political treatises. This was around the time when he wrote Il Principe.
Machiavelli’s Il Principe (The Prince)
Il Principe is one of the first works of modern political philosophy in which the effective truth is taken to be more important than any abstract ideal (what "it is" is more important than what "it should be"). Il Principe proposes that a prince can justify the use of immoral means to achieve the ends such as glory and survival: "he who neglects what is done for what ought to be done, sooner effects his ruin than his preservation" (Il Principe Chapter XV). Because of that, Il Principe came in direct conflict with the dominant Catholic and scholastic doctrines of the time concerning how to consider politics and ethics.
The subject matter in Il Principe is new princedoms; meaning the state acquired not through hereditary, but through arms, fortune, or ability (Il Principe Chapter I and II). The strength of all principalities ought to be measured by "whether a prince has such power that, in case of need, he can support himself with his own resources, or whether he has always need of the assistance of others" (Il Principe Chapter X).
Having discussed the importance of defense and military, Il Principe turns to state that "the chief foundations of all states, new as well as old or composite, are good laws and good arms" (Il Principe Chapter XII). A self-sufficient prince should be "armed" with his own arms, warned Machiavelli, as he opposed the use of mercenaries, believing that they were useless to a ruler because they were undisciplined, cowardly, and without any loyalty, being motivated only by money. Il Principe warned against using auxiliary forces, troops borrowed from an ally, because if they won, the employer was under their favor and if they lost, he was ruined (Il Principe Chapter XIII). Machiavelli advised that "a prince ought to have no other aim or thought, nor select anything else for his study, than war and its rules and discipline" (Il Principe Chapter XIV). The two activities Machiavelli recommended a prince practice to prepare for war were physical and mental: to learn the landscape of his territories and to study of past military events.
Machiavelli's pragmatic ideal can be seen most clearly in the next chapters of Il Principe. Concerning qualities for which princes were praised, Machiavelli encouraged that a prince should not be overly concerned about having all the good ones, since most important is only to seem to have these qualities. Machiavelli believed it was necessary for a prince "to know how to do wrong, and to make use of it or not according to necessity" (Il Principe Chapter XV). If a prince was overly generous to his subjects, Machiavelli asserted he would not be appreciated, and will only cause greed for more. When resources were exhausted, and the prince decided to discontinue or limit his generosity, he would be labeled as a miser. "Therefore, any one wishing to maintain among men the name of liberal is obliged to avoid no attribute of magnificence" (Il Principe Chapter XVI).
Machiavelli's pragmatism continued in the next chapters. Concerning cruelty and clemency, Machiavelli wrote, "one should wish to be both, but, because it is difficult to unite them in one person, it is much safer to be feared than loved, when, of the two, either must be dispensed with," yet a prince ought to inspire fear in such a way that "if he does not win love, he avoids hatred" (Il Principe Chapter XVII). Fear is simply a means to an end, and that end is security for the prince.
Il Principe Chapter XVIII "Concerning the Way in which Princes Should Keep Faith" was noted as having "given greater offence than any other portion of Machiavelli's writings" by L.A. Burd in his edition of Il Principe (1891), p. 297. Here Machiavelli proposed that a prince should only keep his word when it suits his purposes, and to neglect faith "when such observance may be turned against him, and when the reasons that caused him to pledge it exist no longer." A prince should not break his word unnecessarily, and should avoid being despised and hated so that he was not easily conspired against. Machiavelli encourage that a prince "ought to have two fears, one from within, on account of his subjects, the other from without, on account of external powers," the former secured by avoiding being hated and despised, and by keeping the people satisfied with him (Il Principe Chapter XIX).
The rest of Il Principe dealt with the prudence of the prince. Machiavelli opposed use of fortresses in conquered territories (Chapter XX); encouraged that a prince truly gained renown by completing great enterprises (Chapter XXI); wrote concerning the secretaries of princes (Chapter XXII); and proposed to avoid flatterers (Chapter XXIII). Machiavelli also wrote about prudence and chance, "Why the Princes of Italy Lost Their States" (Chapter XXIV), concerning fortune (Chapter XXV), and "An Exhortation to Seize Italy and to Free Her from the Barbarians" (Chapter XXVI).
Analysis of Il Principe; Its Influence to Realism
It is believed that Machiavelli had written Il Principe in 1513 for the instruction of the Medici after they had just regained power in Florence; Machiavelli wrote in his letter of dedication that his work was dedicated to "The Magnificent Lorenzo di Piero de' Medici." That led some authors to interpret Il Principe as political satire or as deceit. Jean-Jacques Rousseau was one who said Il Principe as a satire in his Social Contract, Book 3, n. 23. Antonio Gramsci argued that the purported audience for Il Principe was the common people to learn the methods of the ruling class. Mary G. Dietz (1986) even commented that Machiavelli's intention was "to undo Lorenzo de Medici by giving him advice that would jeopardize his power, hasten his overthrow, and allow for the resurgence of the Florentine republic" (Dietz (1986) "Trapping the Prince: Machiavelli and the Politics of Deception", The American Political Science Review, Vol. 80, No. 3 (Sep., 1986), p.777-799)" Dietz argued that Machiavelli encouraged the prince to live in the city he conquers to makes it easier for rebels or a civilian militia to attack and overthrow the prince. Machiavelli also supported arming the people despite the fact that he knew the Florentines were decidedly pro-democratic and would oppose the prince.
Whether Il Principe was truly intended as a political satire and as deceit or not, the work was one of the first works that emphasized the need for realism as opposed to idealism. Machiavelli did not explain what he thinks the best ethical or political goals were; he took it for granted that would-be leaders naturally aim at glory and survival. Machiavelli believed that a strong state was one that could defend itself and didn't need to depend on allies. It complied with the Realist assumption that states must arrive at relations with other states on their own, rather than it being dictated to them by some higher controlling entity. It also preceded Realist proposal that the primary concern of all states was survival, which required strong military, leading Machiavelli to propose a prince to prepare for war even in peace times.
Machiavelli was born in an era of constant antagonism in Italy, leading him to emphasize power politics. He denied of the power of justice and was sensitive to harsh necessity and elusive chance. He was also in favor of balancing in regard of two warring states, similar to what Kenneth Waltz later suggested in his 1979 Theory of International Politics:
"... when a prince declares himself gallantly in favour of one side, if the party with whom he allies himself conquers, although the victor may be powerful and may have him at his mercy, yet he is indebted to him, and there is established a bond of amity; and men are never so shameless as to become a monument of ingratitude by oppressing you. Victories after all are never so complete that the victor must not show some regard, especially to justice. But if he with whom you ally yourself loses, you may be sheltered by him, and whilst he is able he may aid you, and you become companions on a fortune that may rise again." (Il Principe Chapter XXI)
Martin Wight listed Machiavelli as one of four seminal thinkers in international theory in his book Wight, Martin (2005) Four Seminal Thinkers in International Theory: Machiavelli, Grotius, Kant, and Mazzini; writing "his name became a byword in the sixteenth century for the slick, unprincipled trickster in politics, the sneaking assassin with a stiletto, or the masterly diplomatic operator, aiming at success" (p.3). Machiavelli might have not been the advocate of unscrupulous politicians described in his Il Principe, but his work had been a reader in Realist IR theories for its contribution to Renaissance political realism.
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