About Niccolò Machiavelli
Florentine diplomat and political thinker (1469–1527) who served the Florentine Republic for fourteen years before being arrested, tortured, and exiled when the Medici returned to power in 1512. The Prince was written during this exile, partly as an attempt to regain Medici patronage. Machiavelli is simultaneously the founder of modern political analysis — for separating the study of politics from Christian moral theology — and one of history's most consistently misread thinkers, whose name became a byword for ruthless cunning while his actual argument concerned the conditions under which a new political order can be built and maintained.
Books by Niccolò Machiavelli
Discourses on Livy
Important for understanding republican liberty, civic conflict, institutions, and active citizenship.
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A foundational text for understanding politics as power, strategy, fear, reputation, and necessity.
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