Machiavelli’s Science of Statecraft: The Diplomacy and Politics of Disorder

Abstract

This paper calls into question the extent to which ethical dualism, broadly conceived as raison d' état, does justice to Machiavelli's understanding and practice of the diplomatic arts. Arguments are advanced herein that Machiavelli did not so much abandon morality as he sought, through the examples of Rome and antiquity, to find a different remedy for the disorder and violence rampant in the Italy of his day. Machiavelli's reports in the diplomatic service of Florence illustrate qualities and skills of the diplomat often at odds with the caricature of the immoral statesman.

The Consequences of Early Modern Diplomacy: Entanglement, Discrimination, Mutual Ignorance—and State Building

“…One could consider the numerous tracts about the princes' servants-notably secretaries and the like-a sort of derivation of this genre; and the various books which were written about the figure and the duties of the ambassador-one of the most popular examples was Juan Antonio de Very y Figueroa's El embaxador, first printed in 1620-were, for their part, nothing but a concretisation of the reflections on how the ideal office-holder and representative of a prince should behave. 7 In many respects, most of these tracts were variations on Machiavelli's The Prince (Russell 2005)-mostly in that Machiavelli served as a negative counterpart, from which the writer's own maxims differed substantially. Still, the virtue of prudenza (prudence) served as a key element in all studies on ambassadorial behaviour (Frigo 2008: 25).…”

Investigation of turkish higher education as a means of influence in relation to ‘soft power'

“…Diğer bir ifadeyle, askeri güç ve zaferler güçlü olmanın en büyük göstergesi kabul edilmekteydi. Benzer şekilde, Machiavelli de üstünlüğün diğer devletler ile güven esasına dayalı olumlu ilişkiler kurmak suretiyle değil, ancak sahip olunan askeri güç ile korku yaratarak sağlanabileceğini savunmuştur (Russell, 2005). Machiavelli, halkın ve daha geniş anlamıyla tüm insanlığın dar görüşlü, ahlak dışı şeylere eğilimli ve aciz olduğunu düşündüğü için askeri güce dayalı mücadelelerin ve savaşların normal karşılanması gerektiğine inanmıştır (Godin, 2014 (Bilgen, 1996).…”

“…Söz gelimi, uluslararası ilişkilerde saldırgan bir politika izleyen ve ülkelerin sınır güvenliğini tehdit eden bir komşu devlet tarafından güçlü ordu ve zorlu coğrafi koşullar bir güç olarak algılanabilir. Öte yandan, aynı ülke ile iktisadi ilişkileri arttırmak isteyen bir komşu devlet için zor coğrafi şartlar bir güç kaynağı olmanın aksine dezavantajlı bir durumdur (Özdemir, 2008 (Nye, 1990;2005 (Selçuk, 2012). Buna karşın yumuşak güçte kamu diplomasisine önem verilir (Nye, 2005 (Wang, 2008).…”

Structures on the Move

“…7 In many respects, most of these tracts were variations on Machiavelli's The Prince (Russell 2005)-mostly in that Machiavelli served as a negative counterpart, from which the writer's own maxims differed substantially. One could consider the numerous tracts about the princes' servants-notably secretaries and the like-a sort of derivation of this genre; and the various books which were written about the figure and the duties of the ambassador-one of the most popular examples was Juan Antonio de Very y Figueroa's El embaxador, first printed in 1620-were, for their part, nothing but a concretisation of the reflections on how the ideal office-holder and representative of a prince should behave.…”