" Parallels with business takeovers are frighteningly stark. Change. In the Prince he says "It must be considered that there is nothing more difficult to carry out, nor more doubtful of success, nor more dangerous to handle, than to initiate a new order of things" (Machiavelli). Relevancy...and Not The impact of Machiavelli's writing on politics has been accepted for some time, but the relevance of his ideas to business had to wait until

Hitler was an aggressive, dominant leader who was revered by many Germans. He overtook Poland and other nations such as Norway with virtually no defense at all because they were unprepared and their leaders did not anticipate or approve of aggression and defense. They were wrong, and it cost them dearly. If these nations had put up a real fight, the war might have had a different outcome. The

However, it was after his imprisonment that Machiavelli showed 'Machiavellian' traits, as he tried to pursue his political philosophy by gaining his once-deferred power by the Medici family. Machiavelli shows his Machiavellianism by devising ways to win their favor once again, and these ways include creating discourses that reflect the family's method of governing Italy. By reflecting through the image of the Medici family the image of resolute and

This belief came in response to the realities of the time that saw corruption and lust for riches as the main interests in the political life. Both Gandhi and Machiavelli saw self restrain as an important quality, even though the reasons deferred. In today's political life, there is more and more evidence of the applicability of the concepts advocated by Machiavelli centuries ago. The constant use of the notion Machiavellian

Republicans recently overtook Democrats in fundraising, for instance, yet they will continue to play the underdog on most issues because the "good" qualities of security and being disadvantaged (which is generally viewed favorably in the country) are mutually exclusive, and because the appearance of being the underdog helps their cause regardless of its truth. This also reflects a singularity of purpose and a determination that one's own conclusions, and not those

They might make good holiday spots but they do not make good political partners. Because almost all of the countries that do not maintain a military have treaties with nations that do, few nations can be classified as being truly demilitarized. The nations with explicit pacifist clauses in their constitutions like Costa Rica would be unable to withstand invasion from a hostile nation and are therefore useless in terms of