Dimensions
130 x 198 x 13mm
Credited with taking the ethics out of politics and hailed as the father of "realpolitik", Machiavelli's name became synonymous with a form of politics that privileged expediency at the expense of morality. Whilst assuming the guise of a traditional 'Mirror Of Princes' handbook, 'The Prince' subverts the classical and Renaissance conventions of such moralising tracts. By exploiting the distance between ruler and ruled, Machiavelli encourages his Prince to present an image of virtue when necessity dictates he act immorally. The result is a handbook dedicated to a new Prince, espousing a politics of necessity with scant concern for justice and Christian morality when the security of the Prince's rule is threatened.
Set in the context of his early political writings, this edition shows how Machiavelli's advice was conditioned by the prevailing political and social culture of Renaissance Italy. His clinical analysis of the dynamics of power, however, is as chilling now as it was then.
A unique paperback edition, with a new translation of 'The Prince', introduction, notes, selected criticism and chronology of Machiavelli's life and times.
