Criticism of Realistic View of Nicolo Machiavelli
By: Ahmet Ufuk Turan
Course:
Theories of International Relations
Date of Submission: May 15, 2018
Table of Contents
Introduction...............................................................................................................................1
Niccolò Machiavelli...................................................................................................................3
Criticizm of Machiavelli's view of reality...............................................................................3
Conclusion................................................................................................................................12
Bibliography............................................................................................................................14
Introduction
In this article, I will tell Machiavelli's view of reality. What is Realism? What is the importance of International Relations? is realism still used? Is it possible to be followed in the framework of Machiavelli's vision? The reality of life is its own reality. This is a struggle for survival. It is the story of bitter. Because, if you will sorry, you will lose. This is a betrayal. It is necessary to play according to the rules of life. If this is your last of the tango, you need to be more careful. we must always be aware that we walk a thin line. You need to use every weapon to reach the goals. In reality, the goal is important, and you always have enemies. You have to be strong enough to fight them. Finally, you do not have to skip a living.
What is the Realism?
Realism is, in the broadest sense, a paradigm based on the idea that in the international system, in the direction of its own strengths and positions, it is a struggle for all its own national interests in all the competing ready states. The philosophical-political roots of realism can be traced back to ancient Greece, even to Sun Tzu, It is a very popular international relations theory after World War II. The philosophy of realism stems from the argument that the state would prefer to act in the interests of the state in disagreements between the moral principles that the state must comply with and the policies it must apply to protect its existence from its enemies. (Machievelli 1992, p.24)
Realism is essentially a tradition of International Relations based on four propositions.
1-According to Realism, the international system is anarchic.
2-States are the most important actors of international relations.
3-Every state in the international system is a unit of the system as a rational actor.
4-The main problem for states is to exist.
At the same time, the absence of anarchy will mean the absence of state sovereignty. There is constant hostility in the international system. States tend to follow their own interests. States will work to reach as many sources as possible. States develop military forces to sustain their assets, which in turn causes security dilemmas. we actually caught the secret word.’power’. In realism, the real issue is power. and protect to power. Realists think that people are not prone to congenital well-being, they are more selfish and competitive. This point of view of the Realists recognizes that human nature is "self-centered," even if it is not "selfish" and that it is conflicting as far as the conditions for coexistence are possible.
States emphasize an interest in emphasizing the accumulation of power in order to ensure their security in the International System, which has an anarchic structure. Power is used here as a concept that is primarily considered in terms of the material resources needed to force and prevent other states. The use of force emphasizes the compelling tactics and behaviors that are used to achieve a national outcome or to prevent anything threatening national interests. Niccolò Machiavelli wrote in his book Prince, an Italian political philosopher, that the main purpose of a ruler is to increase his power and to be indifferent to religious or ethical principles for this purpose.
Niccolò Machiavelli
16th-century Italian politician and commentator Niccolo Machiavelli is one of the world's most famous and political thinkers. His name is one of the rare thinkers who become part of everyday life. Machiavelli was a Florentine. To know this is essential to know everything about him. I'm exaggerating, but I am doing this to specify a point. Florence was a republic and a city-state. and Machiavelli had spent a considerable part of his adult first life serving the republic. Machiavelli living in Florence where at the peak of the Renaissance, at the center of the Renaissance, Leonard Davinci and Michelangelo did it for the sculpture, and he did it for politics. But Machiavelli was not ordinary florals. He has grown under the rule of the Medicis.
Machiavelli's view of reality
Machiavelli is the pioneer thinker of realism. What do you mean, Machiavellian behavior? It is the hypocrisy with the heaviest inter, predation. Trick and deception come at the beginning of the Machiavelli terms. But it also means being an accountant or being planned. It is mean, to politics on a life without regard to its a moral significance. But this is ultimately a y a realistic approach. I mean both positive and negative meanings of the word. According to him, the qualities of being a successful politician in non-republican countries. According to previous politicians, Machiavelli does not grade politics by ideals, based on living reality. He warns to politicians that destruction of idealistic views will occur. M Machiavel li's most important work is the book, Prince. We can say that after the 17th century this book affected many leaders. Throughout the text, the sovereign mentioned has some aims that the task requires. For these purposes, a real ruler would do whatever it was. The ruler should not go astray in the way that things will be moral. He should have done what he needed to stay in power.
Machiavelli was born in Florance. it was the heart of the Renaissance. Florence politics was in turmoil in this period when renaissance first took place. The Medici Family in power is overthrown by popular revolt, and it was followed by the theocratic administration of a solemn priest. Machiavelli, a diplomat to the newly born Republic of Florence, has the opportunity to view politicians' attitudes, often beyond their borders of conscience and conscience. According to Machiavelli, the administrators of Florence must arm the people and save the city of Pisa near Florence from the French occupation. According to Machiavelli, there is no point in fighting mercenaries. They never fought right. As long as they paid for it, then they would go away. Machiavelli personally took part in establishing some kind of militia power. However, in Florence, the republic is overthrown and the Medici family returns to power. The invading Spanish forces helped them. Then Machiavelli understood that the republic has collapsed. If you intend to enter an order of your new regime, you will enter an order of new rulers. However, I note that the new rulers are on a very delicate balance. power is entirely luck, not by virtue of their own merits, the power of foreign armies. Machiavelli was literally a realist. He was pursuing realism according to every situation. He accused with schemer position. According to them, he had no place in the new regime. However, he tried to write “Press” in the exile to Medicis Family. Power is important in realism, and in this book, Machiavelli has put a very good emphasis on this situation. in this book, Machiavelli had said that:” an old republic, nothing new to become a ruler is dangerous”. this is exactly what the medics were in. The Medics needed advice on how to keep themselves in power. (Machievelli 1992, p.28)
For power, Machiavelli ignored the benefits of people to stay in power. The state must serve people for their benefits. The state must protect the interests of its citizens. The government should serve own people. The state must strive for the welfare of the people. The state should not leave the people in the shadow of power. The state should not fool the people. The people of Machiavelli's Republic did not receive the focus. Machiavelli's Republic administration took the focus. Realism must take the strength of the people, not the power of the state. Citizenship rights have decreased since ancient times and go through the procedure of representation. The rulers, all kinds of harm has been revealed to the public. Today, this is the case. After the 17th century, the leaders followed Machiavelli's management philosophy. The public had seen the damage. It has caused a lot of things: battles, crises, coups, etc. Machiavelli's reality is the strengthening of the administration by frightening the people. If the state is strong ana d the people are powerless, the state has no meaning. In this case, there is no meaning in Machiavelli's Republic.
Machiavelli's book deals with qualities that the Roman thinker s have gained in the past. Machiavelli had negative criticisms of Chicero, Seneca's fair, generous and supreme volunteer monarch. This sarcastic attitude has a central place in the book. Machiavelli said that if you think that these qualities are going to win the day and the victory to run the estate affairs, you are being deceived. (Biagini 2009, pp.1-3)
According to Machiavelli, a ruler who wants to maintain his position must know how to make mistakes and how to spread it according to his needs. (Lovett 2015) According to Machiavelli, justice, generosity, exalted volunteering do not work for a ruler. On the contrary, a ruler must be like the animals cursed by the Roman Writers. According to Machiavelli: ruler must use direct power like a lion and must be cunning like a fox. But there is something Machiavelli has forgotten, the countries are conquered by the sword, they are governed by justice. Otherwise, you will not get continuity and lasting peace and well-being. The continuity of the states depends on the justice. Machiavelli's republic is a totalitarian republic because it defends just the administration. According to him, the government has two ways, one of which is the power the other is law. The first way of the peoples and second way of the animals. But often it is necessary to deviate to the second path if the first is not enough. The ruler should take the law. because he manages people. The importance should be attached to the virtue of man. People must live under the law. people can only be managed by law. The only explanation for this is that they are human beings. They are not animals. It does not need to act like an animal to the managers. Machiavelli says the ruler must be like a lion and a fox. Because the lion cannot protect herself from a trap, and fox cannot protect from wolves. Therefore, must be a fox to notice the pitfalls and must be lion to miss the wolves. Machiavelli ridiculed with the ideal of classical virtue and made fun of these qualities. For the Florentine thinker, what you need to do to fool your plays of the luck is a virtue. Luck is likened to a woman in this book.
This is subject to a high gender discriminatory thought. Because it is an unreliable force that reason is likened to luck. And liken to a woman, luck requires a real man to rule over herself. What kind of political advice is there in that expression? we find the response of this saint to the ancient Roman historian Titus Livius. Fortune is with brave. In the face of politics of fortune games, it is necessary to keep initiative at all times. You need to react. (Lukes 2004, pp.1089-1108)
Machiavelli takes the example of the near-by state managers to support his views. One of the main models is Cesare Borgia did, the son of the pope. Borgia was in an effort to dominate the positions of Italy in church control. He has killed a minister in a relentless manner. Machiavelli admired that situation. Borgia said it was the minister's job that the work was not caused by himself. Borgia was overthrowing her responsibilities there. He was trying to win the trust of the people. This means to use the people. This meant to cheat on the people. Such events were to frighten the people and inspire admiration. Therefore, they were trying to establish an authoritarian organizing. Machiavelli understood that event; It is possible to shed somebody's blood, to please people and to scare them. According to Machiavelli, the people were due to the numbers of power. Machiavelli said that taking into account this situation should always be taken into account.
Because in the end, the judge about the ruler belonged to the people. In a very early period of history, he noticed the power of public opinion. What made Machiavelli's name even worse was that his manager was like a fox, and he had to fool the public from time to time. Whenever you do something contrary to virtue, you should pretend that you have nothing to do with it. He had a recommendation to the ruler:” you will have to cheat”.(McCormick 2007,pp. 385-411)
The world is globalized. A science called international relations was born. The clergy first ruled the world, then soldiers, then merchants but, now it manages global capital. As mentioned above, the main actor state in international relations. What is a state? if we say it as Machiavelli, the state is a system based on public law and observing the interests of the public, but according to political scientist Muncie Kapani, state, a compulsory evil, According to a businessman, the state, me, you and he. Realism is now viewed as such. Machiavelli was ruthless to international relations. We can see the most obvious examples of this in the leaders of the first and second world wars. if we give an example, we can give the example the Churchill. Churchill is an effective leader from Machiavelli. Churchill has done all the tricks of politics for the benefits for Great Britain. However, a lot of people paid that price.
As your ruler, your sovereign will protect you. The ideas that have made important contributions to the realist paradigm in the International Relations have been analyzed within the framework of the interpretations they have brought to concepts such as "state", "sovereignty, human nature, national interest, power, diplomacy". The understanding of the discourses of Machiavelli, who has left guiding ideas for international relations and state administration, made an important contribution to the interpretation of present events and events from a different perspective. (Russel 2005, pp. 227-250)
One of the most important factors affecting Machiavelli's thinking is the idea of Renaissance. Renaissance is a major renewal movement in Italy, beginning with the end of the Middle Ages and spreading all over Western Europe, in the context of a series of structural and economic changes in politics, culture, and economy. The Renaissance defines the emergence of something completely new, not the revival of something old. The relationship between the Middle Ages and the Renaissance is interpreted as a dark age related to light ages. It is possible to find the roots of many transformations in Renaissance in medieval thought. During this period, the republican regimes gradually deteriorated and aristocratic governments, which were dominant allies and stronger families, came to the forefront. In addition to these placards, strong counterexamples such as France, Spain and Great Britain were also seen. These countries once again strengthened their political unity and took quite a long way towards a national state.
“Machiavelli's thought is based on human nature and there is always the passion to acquire new things. In this context, the seizure is natural. About people; "... If you do not have power, if you do, everyone will give you the power to strengthen someone else, this will bring you the last, but the resources are scarce and the power of the people is often unattainable, their goals have not been attained. they are not satisfied, and they are always jealous of others. "He emphasized the" bad "features of people." One does not struggle against happiness, the goal is to provide the expectation and happiness of the target state, people are there for it, man is a natural force, an energy source”. (Leung 2000, p.3-13)
Machiavelli is against the modest, humble personality pattern of Christianity; The kind of person he craves is "like an early man, sharp and productive".(Forde 1992, pp.372-398) According to Machiavelli, the people always want to be free, and nobles want to more manage them, so the liberal administration is more intelligent. But they are frightened to the public, where is the liberty? Machiavelli’s opinion about religion was negative. Christianity is a phenomenon that makes people poor. He said. Clergymen utilized the religion. It had been caused people hate from religion.
According to Machiavelli, who regards the security of the state as the basis, it must have the power to resist all kinds of threats both internally and externally in order to sustain the Prince power. It is argued that the prince has a primary duty and responsibility in this regard and that the state manager should favor the state interests in the event of a conflict between individual morality and state interests. (Skinner 1969, pp.3-53)
For the prince, it emerges from the statement that "state relations must have a lot of moral values, and to have" gentleness "in order to maintain its own existence. This discourse overlaps with classical realism (Wendt 1999).
The first task of the state is to survive. If someone threatens his presence, he should destroy it. According to him, the government is a flawed state that does not care. Because the state must be strong. The greatest danger for a state is anarchy.
Machiavelli believes that the equilibrium can be realized in a democratic society based on economic and social equality within the state and that such a balance of power within the anarchic international system will make a positive contribution to the international system. He believes that the role of international agreements and alliances is important and that appropriate conditions for establishing positive relations with foreign states should be achieved. (Knutsen 2016)
As we have seen, Machiavelli has not only conceived of all the political truths that have been applied at every step to achieve success in Italy but has accepted it as it is. However, there is a difference between Machiavelli, the other politicians who are always on holiday for the purposes of the times. Politicians who do not see themselves connected to something other than the success of the period are struggling for their personal interests or for the interests of specific families or specific cities. Their purpose is not as morally appropriate as the tools they use. However, Machiavelli, in contrast, sees himself behind a higher goal. This high purpose is the provision of the Italian unity. After such a high purpose is added, it sees all means (legitimate, permissible) to achieve this purpose. Here, the concept of Machiavellism in the political dictionary stated that Machiavelli's approach to morality, as revealed in the Prince, would be appropriate to resort to any means of riding to obtain it. Niccolò Machiavelli focused on these issues. Who is the main actor (s) on the international scene?
What is the possibility of conflict and cooperation in the international arena?
What is the position in the paradigm frame?
What is the situation of these two evaluations in today's international politics?
It also emphasizes the importance of trying to weaken stronger and stronger forces in neighboring countries and try to withdraw from weaker states in terms of power balance. Machiavelli focuses on the inevitability of the war between the states and that states must always be ready for battle in an anarchic environment. The prince must be a master of the art of war. Because there is always a power struggle between the states.
On the other hand, in International Relations, different interpretations of different paradigms have been made about the commonly accepted "nation-state" that emerged with Westphalia Peace. Discussions about the state after the 1940s, technological developments in the 1960s and non-state actors, more interdependence in the 1970s and 1980s, and globalization until the 1980s. It is possible to say that the "state" is still regarded as an indispensable part of discipline and international relations. (Kissinger 1995)
It is possible to start Machiavelli's influence on international relations with the concept of the state. For the first time in Western languages, it is said that the person who uses the “state” word is Machiavelli.
Conclusion
To sum up, Machiavelli influenced realist writers who came after himself in international relations. In particular, relations between power, state, sovereignty, army, and states are still influenced by their explanations in diplomatic relations. Furter more, in Machiavelli's Prince, in the historical analysis, the structure of the scholastic thinker and the place of the church in the state structure can be seen as brave and different ideas accordingly. The ideas he created, the politics he followed, the 17th century shed light on the approach of realism in international relations.we can say even prepared foundations of government policy in the world.ther is no doubt from his contributions to realism in the international relations.
However, his attitude is cruel. This is coinciding with his libertarian approach. Hegel sums up the method as follows: "Gangrene cannot be treated with lavender water in the stool. All the political actors who give the power struggle act suspiciously according to Machiavelli. Politicians must never trust anyone because every man has evil in its core. But talented politicians try to hide this suspicion and unreliability. But there is a benefit to know that situation; States are founded on unity and togetherness. People trust each other to build their own state. If they can protect each other, they can protect own their state. Statesmen should not look upon their people as enemies.
In conclusion, Machiavelli is seen as one of the founders of political science and influential in the acquisition of autonomy of international relations. Many leaders continue to read his book which called names Prince.
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