In the genre of the-mirror-for-princes Erasmus Desiderius, Institutio Principi Christiani and Niccoló Machiavelli’s Il Principe are traditionally considered as a dichotomy. This thesis aims at comparing Erasmus against the norm of Machiavelli with emphasis on genre and rhetoric. A "reversed" comparative reading like this study shows that much of what is considered typical of the genre in Erasmus classic is in fact a result of the use of ethos and decorum. The study concentrates on the uses of normative language on the subjects of education, virtue, war, love, and hate to answer how the two texts differentiate in view of the legitimacy of rulers and how these differing views can be explained. This unorthodox reading of Erasmus mirror-for-princes reveals a less naïve and more pragmatic ideal prince. Though clearly separate from Machiavelli’s prince, formed by the roman discourse, the Erasmian ruler is hard to define as its antithesis. The differences in outlook constitute two different rhetorical stances in the face of the new political situation of the time and therefore share much common ground.

Since the end of the Second World War, the location of most interstate borders has been fixed.This suggests that the common phenomenon of ethnic groups partitioned by internationallyrecognized state borders is permanent. Nevertheless, a recurrent dream of 'redemption' (i.e. thebuilding of a self-ruling polity which unifies the separate segments) is capable of inciting patrioticmobilization even in the face of a very long period of unbroken partition. Little is knownabout this clash between dream and reality. How can an ethnoterritorial group which is apparentlypermanently partitioned between separate, sovereign states be redeemed? In seeking asolution to this puzzle, I attempt a Machiavellian type of analysis, defined as an approach whichcombines a patriotic perspective with a strategic view of the choice of specific means and endsin a way which is free of state-centrism. I also employ Machiavelli's theory-building method,which is a form of abduction.This study focuses on six aspects of the problem of partition and redemption: the territorialsetting, the historical process, partitioning state contexts, perceptions of partition and homelandmythology, strategies, and outcomes. Two instances are selected for case study and comparison:the Sami in northernmost Europe, and the Basques in Spain and France. Both groups arepartitioned between separate states, are a minority in each one, and lack control over all existingstate governments.The analysis reveals the unexpected result that the less numerous, greater dispersed, morepartitioned, and generally weaker Sami have been more successful in redemption than have theBasques. While the Sami have built common bodies which officially represent Sami in all fourpartitioning states, the Basques have only a limited transborder cooperation between the BasqueAutonomous Community (BAC) in Spain and non-Basque regional authorities in France. It ismore important to have compatible building blocks in each state (like the three Nordic SamiParliaments), than to have a single powerful one (like the BAC). Without fairly similar andharmonized partitioning states, like the Nordic countries, it is extremely difficult for transborderpolity-building to succeed. Another main conclusion, which disputes the findings of other research,is that redemption is possible even when a group remains partitioned, given that thegoal of statehood is abandoned in favour of a less ambitious transborder homerule. In order torealize this goal, the most generally applicable method is a stepwise strategy aimed at creatingcompatible building blocks in each state. A variant of this is the blueprint strategy, that is, usingan achievement in one state as a model for the struggle in other states. In contrast to nonparti -tioned groups, partitioned groups can refer to their own achievement in other states.The subject of interest here transcends the domestic-international divide. Similarly, theanalysis transcends academic boundaries, mainly those of political theory, international politicsand comparative politics. This combination provides a starting-point for further inquiry into thepattern of overlapping polities which is emerging, and of partition and redemption in particular. / digitalisering@umu

Social aggression -- the use of covert forms of aggression such as betrayal, gossip, and rumor-spreading -- has only recently been the focus of research and is not yet well understood. This study hypothesizes that the tactics of socially aggressive children are consistent with the social manipulations of Machiavelli. Niccolo Machiaveli wrote extensively on the coercive techniques he used to gain power, achieve his goals, and defend his country (e.g. Machiavelli, 1513/1968). Christie and Geis (1970), inspired by Machiaveli, began researching a form of social manipulation that they term Machiavellianism. While the similarities in characteristics of Machiavellian and socially aggressive children seem to indicate that they may share behavioral strategies and social goals, there is no research to date that compares these children. Additionally, since little research has examined the goals of social aggression in relational conflict situations this study used a quantitative measure of social goals in order to better understand the purpose of a child's behavior. / text

“Shakespeare and the Drama of Politic Stratagems” focuses on how Shakespeare dramatically explores strategic issues similar to those discussed by Machiavelli and other early modern politic authors. The thesis is structured in order to tackle the diverse nature of strategy while developing and expanding on its most essential issues. The first chapter deals with the amoral and dangerous political world of the first tetralogy, a world in which one must be strategic in order to survive. Since not every strategist engages in the same kind of strategy or even agrees about what the best strategy might be, the second chapter outlines the different characteristics of Shakespeare’s strategists. These strategists can sometimes achieve success on their own, but no one can survive alone indefinitely, and the third chapter thus outlines the importance of strategic alliances and the dangers of making the wrong alliance. The fourth chapter deals with the numerous kinds of enemies that a strategist must contend with. Not all enemies fight in the same way, so a strategist must be on guard against an enemy’s deceptions, the focus of the fifth chapter. Even if these obstacles are overcome, even the most successful strategists will almost inevitably fail at some point or another. That failure may be due to some flaw in their schemes, or it may be due to the extreme difficulty of achieving success indefinitely. The final chapter deals with the perennial conflict between virtù and fortuna and thus the limits of politic stratagems. Machiavelli’s works can be seen as an epicenter of strategic thinking in the early modern period, and so they act as a guide through complex, contradictory, but ultimately rewarding issues of strategy and their consequences. Machiavelli serves as both analogue and foil, for while Shakespeare dramatizes similar strategic ideas, his dramatizations reveal greater truths about what is at stake when one explores the nature and consequences of politic stratagems. This thesis demonstrates the multiple factors that make strategy so dynamic and useful to a young dramatist in the process of discovering his own interests in the art of politics and the art of drama.

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Mémoire numérisé par la Division de la gestion de documents et des archives de l'Université de Montréal

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What defines demagogues and what sort of threat do they pose to democracy? Contemporary politics has recently witnessed a rise in demagogic leaders around the globe. Following this trend, many notable scholars have sought to better define the ancient term and to provide politics with advice on how to handle them. However, demagogy is hard to define, and research is divided over what truly makes for a demagogue. Scholars tend to either focus on the intention, the tools, or the effects of leaders to categorize demagogy. While they might disagree over which aspect of demagogy is most salient, they are more unanimous in their claims regarding the threat that demagogy poses to democracy. Before we outright condemn demagogy, I argue that we should better understand the phenomenon and its relationship to democracy. This dissertation turns to Machiavelli and Aristotle in order to better grasp and better define the phenomenon of demagogy. I first build a concept of demagogy through Aristotle's Politics and then use that concept to detect a similar phenomenon within the work of Machiavelli. In many ways Aristotle and Machiavelli affirm the claims of contemporary scholars, especially regarding the threat that demagogy poses to democracy. According to both thinkers, demagogy involves the use of factions, class enmities, and the corruption of law. Possibly more troubling, both show how the methods of demagogy remain an ever-present possibility to democratic rule. Nevertheless, Aristotle and Machiavelli disagree with contemporary scholarship on how to address the problem of demagogy. Rather than seek out ways to constrain the demagogue, the two philosophers dedicate themselves to providing an education to demagogues. Even more surprisingly, this dissertation argues that both have covertly tried to persuade others to adopt the methods of demagogy for the sake of better preserving democracy and perhaps even to improve upon it.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of California, Santa Cruz, 1994. / Typescript. Includes bibliographical references (leaves [379]-392).

À l’appui des Caractères de la Bruyère, nous ouvrons à nouveau une question laissée en suspens par les études qui ont été menées autour de « la philosophie comme manière de vivre ». Cette question concerne la nouvelle relation entre la parole et l’action qui se serait établie à partir des XVIe et le XVIIe siècles en Occident. Au travers des différentes hypothèses proposées, nous avons choisi d’étudier le rôle qu’y a joué la parole de type machiavélien ou la logique de la domination. À la fois mode d’accès à la connaissance, mode de constitution de soi et rapport à la politeia, cette logique en laquelle s’est inscrit progressivement le savoir moderne nous détourne d’un accès au texte de la Bruyère pouvant libérer tout son potentiel de réformation éthique – sa psychagogie. Pour accéder à ce potentiel, il nous faut tour à tour prendre distance avec la logique de la domination et renouer avec cet autre rapport au langage qu’elle n’a cessé par ailleurs de discréditer, à savoir ce rapport d’origine socratique que relaient les différentes productions philosophiques de l’Antiquité auxquelles se réfèrent les Caractères. Aussi, devrons-nous réévaluer objectivement les postulats anthropologiques qui sont autant de motifs éthiques qui innervent la pensée politique et sociologique moderne et qui configurent le foyer de notre expérience politique actuelle. / By having recourse to La Bruyère’s Characters, this work aims at reassessing a question that has been let aside by scholarly studies dedicated to « the philosophy as a way of life ». This question deals with the new relation between speech and action which is believed to have occurred in the 16th-17th centuries in the West. Through different hypotheses, we have chosen to examine the role played by the Machiavellian type of speech, or the logic of the domination. Being at the same time a way to access knowledge, a mode of self-constitution and a relationship to politeia, this logic is the place where the Modern knowledge gradually falls within and also turns us away from an access to La Bruyère’s text that can release its potential of ethical reformation – its psychagogy. In order to gain access to this potential, we have in turns to distance ourselves from the discursive logic of domination and to renew with this other relation to language, to oneself and to politeia that this logic constantly brings into disrepute, in other words to this Socrastic relation to be found in the philosophical production of the Antiquity to which the Characters refer to.