Machiavelli’s Republican Philosophy
Abstract
Is Machiavelli a teacher of evil, a defender of
absolute, despotic rule? Or is he really a republican thinker as he appears to
be in The Discourses? This article
presents Machiavelli as a republican thinker. The contention of the article is
that Machiavelli throughout his life expressed a preference for the republic as
the best government despite his views expressed in his controversial work, The Prince. The article demonstrates
that when Machiavelli’s life and the political atmosphere of his time are taken
into consideration, The Prince fits
in with the republican account of Machiavelli’s life-work.
References
- ANGLO, Sydney (1969). Machiavelli: A Dissection. New York: Harcourt, Brace & World, Inc.
- BARON, Hans (1961). “Machiavelli: The Republican Citizen and the Author of The Prince.” English Historical Review, 299: 217-53.
- BONDANELLA, P. & MUSA, M. (1979). “Introduction. An Essay on Machiavelli” in The Portable Machiavelli. Trans. and ed. Peter Bondanella and Mark Musa. New York, London: Penguin Books.
- DIETZ, Mary G. (1986). “Trapping the Prince: Machiavelli and the Politics of Deception,” American Political Science Review, 80:777-799.
- HALE, John Rigby (1961). Machiavelli and Renaissance Italy. London: English University Press.
- MACHIAVELLI, Niccolo (1961). The Letters of Machiavelli. A Selection of His Letters. Trans. and ed. Allan Gilbert. New York: Capricorn Books.
- MACHIAVELLI, Niccolo (1979). The Portable Machiavelli. Trans. and ed. Peter Bondanella and Mark Musa. New York, London: Penguin Books.
- McCORMICK, John (1993). “Addressing the Political Exception: Machiavelli’s ‘Accidents’ and The Mixed Regime,” American Political Science Review, 87:888-900.
Details
Primary Language
English
Subjects
-
Journal Section
Research Article
Authors
Publication Date
October 30, 2018
Submission Date
November 8, 2018
Acceptance Date
August 7, 2018
Published in Issue
Year 2018 Number: 31