Vladimir Putin and Machiavelli's The Prince

Niccolo Machiavelli (1810) asks whether it is better for a prince to be loved or feared in The Prince. The purpose of this essay is to argue that it is better for a prince to be feared than loved since the duty of a prince is to remain in power by any means necessary, using the example of Tsar Ivan. Supporting evidence of conflicting viewpoints will be analysed and evaluated throughout to help reach this judgment. The use of contemporary examples: President Trump and Colonel Gaddafi will also be considered to address this question. The study of Tsar Ivan will be instrumental in asserting this hypothesis, showing that for a prince, it is much more important and better to be feared rather than loved.

His climb to power landed himself at the foot of the Russian presidency when President Yeltsin resigned, naming Putin as his successor to office. Since then, President Putin has found ways to stay in power through change in constitutional law within Russia, which had formerly caused Putin to step down as President in 2008. However, as Putin had named Dmitry Medvedev his successor, Medvedev in turn named Putin, Prime Minister. In most cases, Medvedev would've run for a second-term, but instead stated he was switching positions with Putin, giving Putin his third-term in office. While Putin faced protests across Russia from the outcome of this election, he was largely able to stop the protests by jailing the opposition and cracking down on any who spoke out against him. All of this leads up to Machiavelli's 8th chapter, Chapter VIII in The Prince: Concerning Those Who Have Obtained A Principality By Wickedness. Machiavelli talks of those who betray and kill friends to climb the latter of power, only to realize that they can only ever achieve power, and never glory. A characteristic of a ruler must be one of cold-calculation, knowing exactly what to do should the moment come to inflict some action of injury, as Machiavelli puts it, saying the ruler

How does a leader gain and maintain the love of his people when he is killing them in mass numbers? Joseph Stalin was successful in this by following the political tactic of using fear to gain love. A tactic that was highly valued by Nicolo Machiavelli in his work The Prince. “In Arthur Koestler’s Darkness at Noon, the main character, and Old Bolshevik, Nikolaiz Rubashov, declares that “Number one” (Stalin) kept Machiavelli’s The Prince as his favorite night-table book” (Tisemanean). Stalin’s strategy of leadership can be closely compared to the strategies that Machiavelli describes in The Prince. A work that received much controversy over the lessons it preached to political leaders. It coined the phrase “the end justify the means” which follows as a consequence of considering vice a virtue. Stalin used many vices to gain and maintain his state till the day he died. Alexsandr Solzhenitsyn work, The First Circle, showcased how even on death’s door Stalin still used traits treasured in a Machiavellian prince. This paper will assess how Stalin follows Machiavelli’s guidelines for a prince in the areas of war, fear, crime, and in dealing with the people.

Before we begin in analyzing Putin’s Russia we must outline a few of the essential factors of the realist stance in international relations that can be traced back to Machiavelli’s The Prince. First, we ought to see at the existing position in the world that includes negative features. Second, it aims to have an unfavorable aspect of human nature as

Putin enjoys going against the grain and fits Machiavelli’s words as someone who “must by as sly as the fox and as brutal as a lion.” Putin is never afraid to strike down groups with force, but his reputation in Syria is one of vicious swiftness. What makes Putin even more of a Machiavelli Leader is his ability to fly under the international radar, usually including the United Nations, with his motives. Another quality that Putin possesses is his manner of striving to be feared rather than revered by his people. For example, in his time in office, Vladimir Putin has struck fear into the hearts of countless Russians; with the ban of homosexuality. Not only is Putin feared by his people but he also has approval ratings of nearly eighty percent in the most recent years. This fits Machiavelli’s words in The Prince, “the wise prince makes himself feared in such a way that, if he does not gain love, he escapes hatred.” This in totality, makes Putin the ideal Machiavelli Leader because of his ability to properly blend fear and the ability to not be hated.

The makeup of a functioning society is one that lies in the grey area of human existence. Not every aspect of human nature is ready to be sorted into one or the other. Which is why when examining society, it is important to have both a realistic as well as an idealistic view. Philosophers Niccolò Machiavelli and Socrates lived in a time of uncertainty, political fragmentation, and violence and their attitude on how to deal with such issues were contrasting. Machiavelli chooses to focus on creating a political power that is long lasting while Socrates chooses to investigate more into the unknown and promote transparency by challenging the authority that is already in power. As indicated by the works The Apology and Crito, Socrates has an idealistic approach towards ethics and politics. On the opposite hand, in the work The Prince, philosopher Niccolò Machiavelli advocates a realistic point of view in creating a political power that is strong and long-lasting. Socrates would not be supportive of Machiavelli’s The Prince as it advocates for everything that Socrates identifies as unstable characteristics for a government. In short, the political system of which Machiavelli is advocating for is the sole one that Socrates is trying to dismantle.

Niccolo Machiavelli’s The Prince give the world an insight on his thought about those who rule, virtue, military power, and human nature. He elaborates on his ideal prince who must take power, but also maintain power. The Prince is extremely relevant in modern society and often looked upon as the beginning of modern political thinking. Machiavelli gives this prince an outline of the tools needed to maintain power and reinforces these ideas by giving examples of other leader’s successes and failures. Machiavelli believes that the prince must complete understand the balance between war and government. Understanding this balance and being fluent in both politics and war is crucial for maintaining power. Politicians today still use some of the tactics given by

The current global economic and political climate has promoted the question of whether fascism is on the rise again. Vladimir Putin is one of the few current world leaders who has shown fascist tendencies. Putin’s Russia has many elements that are reminiscent of the early 1900’s fascism. There are many similarities between Putin’s Russia and the fundamental principles of classical fascism. Putin asserts Russian power by putting pressure on weak neighboring states, and slams the West’s criticism of his policies and actions. By annexing Crimea and supporting pro-Russian separatists in eastern Ukraine in 2014, Russia was able to justify “its military-patriotic mobilization of society” and the transformation of Russia into a “besieged fortress” (Motyl, 2016, pg. 29). The annexation of Crimea made Russian citizens feel a wave of vicarious optimism. Putin’s ‘bully’ attitude and aggression are supposed to manifest Russian ethnic and cultural revitalization after decades of decline. Similar to Mussolini, Putin is building his regime on the promises of greatness, the display of military force, and the campaign to make Russia great again. Putin’s actions and policies provide the Russian citizens with a sense of national pride, which has been lacking since the post-Soviet era. He continues to pursue strategies and policies that restore Russian pride while consolidating power and influence in Russia. Putin lacks of interest in engaging with Western politics has also contributed to the rise of his popularity at

In The Morals of the Prince Machiavelli expresses his presumption on how a prince should act. He expresses that a prince should be feared, merciful, stingy, etc. He is right because if a prince is loved and too generous then people will take advantage of him and that will lead to his down fall. A prince must act appropriately to remain in power. Machiavelli gives his best ideas to keep a prince in power.

There has been controversy between scholars about author Niccolo Machiavelli. His two famous works The Prince and The Discourses are two books which discuss monarchy and republic government and how both need to work to be efficient. The question asked is how can the author of The Prince also have written The Discourses? How can Machiavelli write about a republic with separation of power, then write about how a new established monarchy can work and survive? We will discuss the ideas set forth in both books and decide whether or not Machiavelli works are consistent or contradictory.

In Putin’s Kleptocracy: Who Owns Russia?, Karen Dawisha relates Russian President Vladmir Putin’s rise to power. She overarchingly claims that Putin is an authoritarian leader who has obstructed and even reverted Russia’s path of democratization, citing, amongst many factors that enabled his ascension, his “interlocking web of personal connections in which he was the linchpin” (100), money-laundering to tax havens and personal projects, and the complicity of the West. With copious research, journalistic interviews, legal documents, and even sporadic informational diagrams, it is evident why her book is so popular amongst scholars and history enthusiasts. Unfortunately however, in spite of the grand yet oftentimes substantiated claims she generates, a more subtle yet noteworthy assumption is made: that the state is a protector, as Olson proffered. She employs this theoretical underpinning from the beginning, though is not representative of Putin’s actual authoritarian regime.

Nowadays, it is politically impossible to commit to paper a "training guide" for leaders. There are innumerable detractors to any possible stance or strategy a leader might adopt. As a result of this, all "training" must take place behind closed doors, far from the prying eyes and ears of the news media or the public. But this has not always been the case.

First let us discuss the ideas of Niccolo Machiavelli in is piece “The Prince”. Machiavelli has a very independent controversial way of thinking and portraying his ideal form of governance in this text. The ideal and most effective from of governance for him is not in that of a republic but instead he insists in an autocratic regime. He argues that republics and other forms of government are too weak because of the corruptness of human nature. This book is written as a guide on how a prince should run his state or nation based on how and when he would come into this power. One of his main concerns in which he has been criticized for is his disregard to follow moral values so as to properly run the state, as well as

Relying on the needs of the society of that time, Machiavelli comes to the conclusion that the most important task is the formation of a single Italian state (Machiavelli 15). Developing his thoughts, the author comes to the following inference: only a prince can become a leader capable of leading people and building a unified state. It is not a concrete historical personality but someone abstract, symbolic, possessing such qualities that in the aggregate are inaccessible to any living ruler. That is why Machiavelli devotes most of his research to the issue of what qualities should the prince possess to fulfill the historical task of developing a new state. The written work is constructed strictly logically and objectively. Even though the image of an ideal prince is abstract, Machiavelli argues that he should be ruthless, deceiving, and selfish.

In recent times, no one can take total power by force alone; you must offer something favorable to the people in order to obtain support. Unfortunately, there are some countries that follow a dictatorship system, which is a form of government that includes social and political power to ensure that the individual’s capability remains strong. Vladimir Putin is a contemporary dictator of Russia. His rebelliousness as a child has led him to his leadership. His cold-heartedness to his rivals and invasion towards countries has led to an opposition towards him. Vladimir Putin’s experience as a street thug led him to his leadership, which easily rose him to power: Not only has he committed crimes against humanity, but he has made groups of people and countries oppose him.