Political science and international relations -Paper 1- Western thinkers - Niccolo Machiavelli.

Basic introduction:

Machiavellian politics is in many ways synonymous with being corrupt and ruthless around the world. This can be understood basing on the Italian political conditions during his life. This Italy was broken, corrupt and thus Machiavelli looked at Greek-Roman empires to come up with art of governance.

Here his emphasis was on art of governance and not the form of state. State in his view, like Aristotle, was natural and is necessary for the human well being. However while Aristotle's state placed emphasis on moral behaviour of its citizens, Machiavellian state concentrated on the King and his need for preservation and expansion.

This led him to give overarching powers to the king to the extent that state became synonymous with the king. But he made restrictions on the power of Monarch in acquiring the property and wives of his subjects and even supported the idea of republic so far as it places importance on preservation and expansion of state.

Legacy Machiavelli:

1. He is considered the father of modern political nation which is sovereign in its internal and eternal affairs. 
2. His view of human behaviour is one material self interest which in many ways is similar to what Hobbes has followed.
3. He was one of the first to support secularism i.e. to divide religion from state.