The Prince
Florentine political treatise
The Prince is Niccolò Machiavelli's 1513 treatise on political power, examining how rulers gain and keep control through pragmatic—often ruthless—means.
The work's unflinching analysis of statecraft gave rise to "Machiavellian" as a term for cunning political manipulation: The Prince remains controversial for its apparent endorsement of deception. (Lowercase the prince refers to a royal son or the same work with informal capitalization.)
Political realism's founding theorist
- FlorenceTuscan capital city
- RenaissanceEuropean cultural reawakening
- political philosophyTheory of governance and justice
- statecraftArt of government
realpolitik · pragmatism · cynicism · amoral · manipulation · deception · cunning · ruthlessness
Methods to achieve goals
- cunningSly, scheming cleverness
- deceptionIntentional misleading of others
- alliancesFormal unions for cooperation
- warfareArmed conflict between groups
military · fortification · arms · calculated · opportunism · timing · adaptability · enemies
Power to enforce obedience
- dominanceSuperior influence over others
- controlAuthority to direct
- sovereigntySupreme independent authority
- legitimacyLawful or rightful status
hegemony · command · influence · consolidation · acquisition · maintenance · force · fear
Machiavelli
Political realism's founding theorist
- FlorenceTuscan capital city
- RenaissanceEuropean cultural reawakening
- political philosophyTheory of governance and justice
statecraft · realpolitik · pragmatism · cynicism · amoral · manipulation · deception · cunning · ruthlessness · expediency
tactics
Methods to achieve goals
- cunningSly, scheming cleverness
- deceptionIntentional misleading of others
- alliancesFormal unions for cooperation
warfare · military · fortification · arms · calculated · opportunism · timing · adaptability · enemies · conspiracies
authority
Power to enforce obedience
- dominanceSuperior influence over others
- controlAuthority to direct
- sovereigntySupreme independent authority
legitimacy · hegemony · command · influence · consolidation · acquisition · maintenance · force · fear · respect
monarch
Hereditary supreme ruler
succession · hereditary · conquered · usurper · tyrant · despot · autocrat · duke · subjects · nobles
- Great BooksMeditations, Leviathan, Utopia, Walden, The Social Contract
- Kingship Manuals
- Adult CartoonsSouth Park, Family Guy, Rick and Morty, Futurama, Bob's Burgers
- Early ModernRenaissance, 1500s, 1600s, Reformation, sixteenth century
- Italian LiteratureDante, Petrarch, Boccaccio, Machiavelli, Dante Alighieri
- Early Modern TextsKing James Bible, Paradise Lost, Don Quixote, Hamlet, Macbeth
The PrinceUtopia
Imagined perfect society
The Social Contract · The Federalist Papers · The Communist Manifesto · Leviathan
The Princecivil disobedience
Peaceful refusal to obey
Gandhian philosophy · constitutional government · rule of law · servant leadership · The Federalist Papers
prince, principal, princely, princes, principally, principality, princedom