| dc.description.abstract | The study is based on the textual method. It reads Machiavelli's Il Principe examining its internal conceptual logic in a modern context, namely in the context of the nuclear weapon era. After two introductory sections, the dissertation focuses on three major problems. The issue of political judgement is discussed at first, evaluating Il Principe's method of describing the point. Il Principe uses two powerful metaphors, on which its theory of political judgement is based: an eye looking at the political drama, and a hand touching it. Accordingly, there are two groups of citizens, the one of molti (many) and the one of pochi (few). Molti is the group looking at the the political drama, pochi the group within the core of power. Secondly, the concept of necessita in Il Principe is investigated. It is a dynamic conception, neither rigid nor obstructive of political actions, but closely related to the concepts of occasione and fortuna. The three together constitute the network of possibilities. The political actor's ability to judge political circumstances correctly is therefore emphasized. The cause of the third problem is the scarcity that prevails in human conditions. With its logical conclusion in the nuclear deterrence, violence emerges as a problematic solution to the problem of scarcity. The study examines some of the deterrence paradoxes from the point of view of Il Principe's violence conception. The final chapter discusses the concept of novelty in politics. In Il Principe's world, novelty has an exceptional modal quality: radical political actions appear possible only after their realization. | en |
