The Prince is an indispensable read as it seemingly challenges previous leadership style

The Prince is an indispensable read as it seemingly challenges previous leadership style; Machiavelli is forward in his portrayal of his predecessors’ as naïve, notably Cesare Borgia. Machiavelli maintains that Borgia was considered cruel, simultaneously validating that such cruelty ‘restored Romagna to peace and loyalty’ (43). When discussing whether a ruler should be loved or feared, Machiavelli proposes that ‘one should wish to be both, but, because it is difficult to unite them in one person, it is much safer to be feared than loved, when, of the two, either must be dispensed with’ (43). Machiavelli first maintains that a prince must ‘know how to do wrong, and to use this knowledge or not to use it according to necessity’ (44). According to Machiavelli, a fitting prince must be ruthless in nature and able to forgo moral compass in order to preserve power. Moreover, their form of governance should be modelled on a willingness to act through necessity. A significant aspect of Machiavelli’s political science involves realist perspective; Whelan (2004) affirms that ‘Machiavelli was the founder, or the most famous proponent, of political realism’ (4).