Intro:
15th Century: Authors such as Machiavelli are presented as modern political theorists but their writing is antique and medieval.
Some problems are that he referred to/focussed on:
-City-states rather than nation-states
Renaissance politics:
The medieval sentiment:
Steeped in Christian theology. Education and discussion was held within Church institutions. They subordinated all existence to participation in a dramatic morality play - 4 themes God, Nature, Prescription and Obedience.
God
Nature
Prescription and obedience
Emergence of modern notions
Feudal order = social stability -> Travel safer, people ventured further for cultivation or trade.
Commercial networks across Europe. Transit trade great for N Italy. Rulers saw the need for interstate agreement to encourage smooth flow of trade. Treaties between city-states produced the basis for diplomatic interaction and swept away cumbersome feudal laws.
Late 15th century the five city-states (Florence, Venice, the papal states Milan, Naples) assumed the character of a state system due to the decline of the papacy and the Holy Roman Empire. This included the
Perceptions and politics in the Renaissance world
1300 A.D. Network of Italian banks all across western and northern Europe. Growth of commerce à changes in social conditions. New transnational class who accumulated and controlled wealth.
The sought after Greek and Roman manuscripts provided fledgling scholars with sustained and systematic discussions of political theory. Immense horizons were opened by this influx of classic masterpieces in the 1420 and 1430s.
The educated Renaissance man identified more easily with classical accounts of complex human beings and problems rather than those of the Church's one-dimensional stories of saints and sinners.
Machiavelli: between virtù and self-interest
Focussed on politics within states not in between them. When he alluded to interstate relations he does not use balance-of-power concept but explains political action in terms of fortuna and virtu or the more modern concept of self interest
M developed self-interest -> military power as the foundation of the state
Armies composed of mercenary, auxiliary or national troops
Third part of the Prince: No distinction between interests of the prince and those of the state. Prince fully represents the state and embodies its interests. Prince free to break his world. Must be a great liar and deceiver but conceal it. Princes always act according to the best interests of the state and do not answer to ordinary moral rules.
Fourth part: Fortune governs only ½ a man's action; rest is own will and virtu. Resounding break with medieval belief that fate is authored by God.
Final chapter: Patriotic intent as a motivating force in political action. M hopes that a virtuous prince will raise a national army, unify Italy, chase foreign invaders off Italian soil and restore the country to independence and glory - modern Europe's first doctrine of national liberation.
Guicciardini: chronicler of power
Guicciardini's works
Image of a city-state system, which is self-regulating owing to balance-of-power mechanism -- Lorenzo de Medici. Creation of author rather than followed by protagonist Lorenzo = short-term gains, interstate affairs game of hazard.
Rediscovering Thucydides
Guicciardini probably extracted his balance-of-power theory from the Peloponnesian War by Thucydides and applied it to contemporary practices.
Thucydides discusses
The implication was that a strong ambitious state can be contained by an alliance of smaller states was to influence IR theory in subsequent centuries.
Conclusion
M attracted the critics' attention. 17th century à The Prince inspired by the devil. G escaped that attention although his writing sometimes makes M appear reasonable and compassionate by comparison. It was M's stark deviation from God-centred medieval system of thought that provoked that reaction.
M and G à humanists and believed scholarships should be based on analysis of historical event and ought not to be confused with ethical and moral concerns. They were in revolt against many propositions of traditional political theory. Separated God and nature.
From God to The Prince
M and G removed God from scholarly attention, implicitly towards the security of the state.
G à renaissance politics: turbulent and dangerous played by men who are false, insidious, deceitful and cunning
The prince must:
From nature to society
M and G à state as self-sufficient entity (as the ancients thought)-> State as self-sufficient actor, which continually interacted with other states and vested in it a legitimising authority for political acts
-> State as artificial temporary creation must be constantly monitored by men
->Replaced nature with society
-> God with State
Reason, free will and determinism
Modern political outlook. Renaissance men changed human rationality. -> in order to understand the actions of a statesman, it is not enough to understand his rational calculations; it is necessary to understand the history and interests of the state he represents - now a key principle in modern IR.
-Politics within rather than between statees
His contributions to IR are modest, although he was an important pioneer in the field of political theory.
Despite powerful central institutions like the Holy Roman Empire and the papacy, medieval Europe was fragmented; plagued by invasions and shifting personal rule. Life and property was precarious. Social and economics organised in very localised network of production and protection.
- dominant theme, omnipotent, omniscient intelligence, already written the last syllable of recorded time and it was unalterable. Man must accept, play his assigned role. The authorities of Church and State - power deriving from God-were instituted among men to have them submit and to instruct on proper lives.
Perfect, good and eternal. No distinction between 'natural' and 'good'. The state was part of God's plan - natural and therefore good by definition.
Intimately intertwined. Man use intelligence and identity God's laws in the universe. Laws natural and good--man imperfect. Live to these laws = God's forgiveness. The function of intelligence = demo truth of revealed knowledge. Function of science was to scrutinise God's two creations; world and Bible
-Establishment of a diplomatic system
>
-Network of permanent embassies with accreedited diplomats
-Foreign policy analysts and advisers
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-Structures for rapid transport and storagge of diplomatic dispatches.
Professional needs forced development of mechanics, credit, navigation, chains of economic command and a social division of labour, which evolved outside the Church. Rediscovery of Greek and Roman artifacts mushroomed towards obsessive proportions among the nouveau niche elite.
Lay, classical scholars à humanists
-In demand from Italian universities, richh families
-Studied and taught Greek
-Read and interpreted classical texts
-Edited and wrote commentaries
-New methods of historical investigation
Renaissance spirit =
-Individualism
-Fascination will classical culture
-Unique historical self-consciousness
>
Fortuna = fortune M uses it in a secularised and descriptive sense rather than event or chance occurrence.
Virtu à virtue (some think too wide a term)
à prowess (too narrow but closer)
Virtu comes from vir/man = masculine ideal of Renaissance gentleman;
-Genius
-Determination
-Strength of a lion
-Cunning of a fox
Appear trustworthy, truthful, honest and good but not to go too far.
-Malicious as fortuna/woman is capricious<
Mercenary -> dangerous, no loyalty, won't die for you
Auxiliary -> obey another ruler, left in the lurch if defeated and in their power if they succeed
National -> Only dependable, live on territory they are defending, depend on victory for survival
G found in Thucydides' account instructive elements towards a deeper understanding of interstate relations.
Rest of paragraph - history of the time.
Wrote a book on Spanish politics, after death of Pope Leo X began a work on Florentine politics. He incessantly revised and rewrote his collection called Ricordi.
-Bleak, cynical view of the human conditioon.
-Cruel and corrupt leaders, driven by ambiition and avarice.
-Warn against trusting individual ruler ->> follow desire rather than reason.
-Attribute the sufferings of man to human failings
Popular masses: mad animals, full of a thousand errors, lacking in taste, discernment and stability
-Clergy: bands of ruffians, ambition, avarrice, sensuality
-Causes and the nature of war
-Alliances made and broken
-Effect of war on people
-Character and influence of the most outsttanding political leaders of his age
Humanist historians like G adopted T 's balance-of-power vision. Thus T reconnected to Western political theory. To understand his impact he must be considered as a citizen of Renaissance Italy as well as ancient Greece.
2 moral realms
1st justice, honesty, compassion
2nd code of the interest of the state
-Guided by self-interest
-Simulate and hide intentions
-Exaggerate his power
- Cover up weaknesses
- Disregard individual virtue of a civil ssociety and consider collective interests of the state
- Never reveal one's own affairs
- Practise lying well
- Revenge is not only sweet but necessary<
- Security means your enemies cannot harm you although they should intensely want to.
M -> reason - the ability to compute ways to realise one's will
G -> Sceptical about a man's ability to learn from history and observing political events
Foundations of The Prince
Final remarks
Renaissance men embraced the idea of a 'reason of state'. G was the 1st author to use the term in its modern state. Became a catchword.