The Prince Revisited: Machiavelli’s Insights on Pragmatic Leadership

Abstract

Machiavelli is an important name in the theories of governance and leadership. After Plato, Machiavelli presented his political concepts relying on practical matters and ground realities instead of imaginary and theoretical matters regarding government and leadership concepts. The guidelines that Machiavelli introduced for the ruler in The Prince also accused Machiavelli of deviating from well-known and authentic moral values. But if Machiavelli's ideas are seen in the context of the political conditions of his time and the experiences through which he passed, we can understand the true meaning of his ideas. Machiavelli makes it imperative for the ruler that an ideal ruler can provide security to the people to keep the state stable. He should establish such a system of government through which the state is protected from threats and the people enjoy their rights and remain loyal to the ruler and the state. Here, Machiavelli differentiates between the morality of the common man and the morality of the ruler and gives the ruler some special permission to take unjust and immoral actions for the betterment of the people and the stability of the state. If the state remains stable due to these measures and the people remain attached to the state and the ruler based on fear or loyalty, then those measures are justified. While introducing an ideal system, Machiavelli emphasized the concepts of loyalty of the people to the ruler, charismatic aspects of the ruler's personality, empowerment of the people through the distribution of powers and ensuring the stability of the state and the protection of the people.