NICCOLO MACHIAVELLI

SCIENCE OF STATECRAFT
BY:
PRIYANSHI CHOUDHARY
B.A(H)POLITICAL SCIENCE
2022519
INTRODUCTION

• Machiavelli has been a controversial figure .

• STATECRAFT : According to the Oxford Dictionary, statecraft is the skillful management of state affairs.
• It can be referred to as an art, methods or strategies that are employed to regulate affairs of state

WORKS DEALING WITH STATECRAFT :

1. The Prince
2. The Art Of War
 "Single rulers are necessary to found and reform states, republican
governments are better at sustaining them once established".

STATE: supreme,
wanted Italy to be a
nation-state. Check
selfish ends of humans.
Favoured monarchy.
Laws and fear for
smooth functioning.
HUMAN NATURE :
STATESMAN :
selfish, opportunists,
maintaining state and
negative. Rely on state
creating strong laws.
for security. Possessive
Engineer of society.
of property.

"Men sooner forget the death of their “Men should be either treated generously
father than the loss of their patrimony". or crushed because they take revenge for
slight injuries- for heavy ones they
Statecraft cannot".
FACTORS INFLUENCING MACHIAVELLI’S THOUGHT
Cultural
movement of
renaissance

Theory of
nation state “CHILD Resurgence
of knowledge
OF HIS
TIMES”

Social Political
condition situation
“ “ whoever considers things present and things past will easily understand how the same
appetites and humours are and always have been incident to all states and people, so that
by diligently examining the course of former ages it is easy matter for men to foresee what is
going to happen in commonwealth, and not only provide such remedies against future evils

”
as their predecessors did, but to strike out new ones on the basis of existing analogies “

IMPORTANCE OF HISTORY

Practical view of history as cyclical in nature. However had an idea of a closed culture
Sabine criticized his historical approach as it is not scientific rather teleological
REPUBLICAN POLITICS AND NOTION OF LIBERTY

• Distinguished between free and unfree states and republics and princedoms .
• Admired republican form of government as in Rome 1) Republican 2) Liberty of
Continuation
of political
liberty people
• Three books of the discourse devoted to exploration of liberty liberty

• Importance of law for maintenance of individual liberty threatened by selfishness

• MIXED CONSTITUTION: preserved liberty of virtuous people and provided stability to state
• Take an oath binding people to defend state CONSULS-
• Ensure people’s participation monarchical
principle
• CYCLICAL VIEW OF STATE:
Monarchies Oligarchies

SENATE- COMITIA –
aristocratic democratic
Popular
government principle principle
 Instrument
of Shock
therapy

VIOLENCE
In
International
AND Domestic
arena NEED FOR arena

CAUTION

Territorial
expansion
and
imperialism
DUTIES OF RULER

EARNING POWER: power is end in itself

Follow RAISON’D ETRE

POLYMATH : display human qualities in front of public but should not be slave of virtue

LION AND FOX THEORY : strong as lion to fight and cunning as fox to detect conspiracies

Abstain from property and women of his subjects

Maintain a strong citizen army ( not include mercenaries and troops of other states)
ADVICE IN “THE PRINCE”

• Let a Prince set about the task of conquering and maintaining his state, his methods will always be
judged honorable, and he will be universally praised".

• A prince must understand how to make a nice use of beast and the man

• "It is well to seem merciful, faithful, humane, sincere, religious and also to
be so, but you must have the mind so disposed that when it is needful to be
otherwise, you may be able to change to the opposite qualities... A Prince...
must not deviate from what is good, if possible, but be able to do evil if constrained"
DOCTORINE OF RAISON D’ ETAT

• Conscience of state , reason of state or justification of state

• Defining the ‘conscience of the state’ in Discourses, Machiavelli wrote, “In making
decisions for the security of the state, justice or injustice, humanity or cruelty,
pride or shame should not be taken into account.”

• Cannons of power and tenets of morality are independent of each other

• End justifies the means

SEPARATION OF POLITICS AND RELIGION

• Medieval period : church’s

complete control over state
• Aquinas propounded that man
needed guidance of divine law
• Moral and religious
considerations cannot bind the
prince , state is above and
outside religion
• Separation of politics from ethics
is essence of Machiavellian
thought.
CONCLUSION

• CONTRIBUTIONS • DRAWBACKS
1. laid the foundation of modern political 1. Absolutism and narrow nationalism
thought – first exponent of power-politics,
2. Ignored individualism
nation states
3. One sided view of human nature
2. GUIDE FOR RULERS: followed by Cromwell
and Napolean 4. Justified utility of war
3. End of state is political power