The Municipal Machiavelli

Machiavelli's The Prince Rewritten for Municipal Politicians

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  • Home
  • Chapters 1-7
    • 1: Home Town Kingdoms
    • 2: Why Incumbents Rule Municipalities
    • 3: Newcomers Versus Incumbents
    • 4: Flexing Your Muscles
    • 5: Troublesome Incumbents & Staff
    • 6: New Ideas Make Enemies
    • 7: With Friends Like These, Who Needs Enemies?
  • Chapters 8-14
    • 8: Does the End Justify the Means?
    • 9: Problems Newcomers Face
    • 10: Defending Your Position
    • 11: Agencies You Can’t Control
    • 12: Crafty Consultants
    • 13: Dangerous Lobbyists
    • 14: Learn the Rules of War
  • Chapters 15-21
    • 15: Looking Good, Acting Bad
    • 16: Parsimony Beats Generosity
    • 17: Better to be Feared Than Loved
    • 18: The Subtle Art of Lying
    • 19: All You Need Isn’t Love
    • 20: Factions & Fortresses
    • 21: Saving Your Reputation
  • Chapters 22-26
    • 22: Loyal Staff & Wise Advisors
    • 23: Avoid Flatterers & Sycophants
    • 24: How Not to be Re-Elected
    • 25: Skill Beats Luck Every Time
    • 26: The Forest and the Trees
  • Addenda
    • Opening & Dedication
    • Introduction
    • Biography
    • About The Prince
    • Machiavelli’s Rules
    • Machiavellian Misquotes
    • Why Machiavelli Matters
    • Translating Machiavelli
    • Bibliography
  • Misc.
    • Demonizing Machiavelli
    • The Art of War
    • The Ten Faults
    • Quotes from Machiavelli
    • Other Quotes
    • Letter to Francesco Vettori

Chapters 1-7

Click on any chapter to go directly there:

  • Chapter 1: Home Town Kingdoms
  • Chapter 2: Why Incumbents Rule Municipalities
  • Chapter 3: Newcomers Versus Incumbents
  • Chapter 4: Flexing Your Muscles
  • Chapter 5: Troublesome Incumbents & Staff
  • Chapter 6: New Ideas Make Enemies
  • Chapter 7: With Friends Like These, Who Needs Enemies?

~~~~~

  • Chapters 8-14
  • Chapters 15-21
  • Chapters 22-26
  • Addenda

~~~~~

The Prince by Chapter:

I II III IV V VI VII VIII IX X XI XII XIII XIV XV XVI XVII XVIII XIX XX XXI XXII XXIII XXIV XXV XXVI

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Chapters

  • Opening Quotes & Dedication
  • Introduction
  • 1: Home Town Kingdoms
  • 2: Why Incumbents Rule Municipalities
  • 3: Newcomers Versus Incumbents
  • 4: Flexing Your Muscles
  • 5: Troublesome Incumbents & Staff
  • 6: New Ideas Make Enemies
  • 7: With Friends Like These, Who Needs Enemies?
  • 8: Does the End Justify the Means?
  • 9: Problems Newcomers Face
  • 10: Defending Your Position
  • 11: Agencies You Can’t Control
  • 12: Crafty Consultants
  • 13: Dangerous Lobbyists
  • 14: Learn the Rules of War
  • 15: Looking Good, Acting Bad
  • 16: Parsimony Beats Generosity
  • 17: Better to be Feared Than Loved
  • 18: The Subtle Art of Lying
  • 19: All You Need Isn’t Love
  • 20: Factions & Fortresses
  • 21: Saving Your Reputation
  • 22: Loyal Staff & Wise Advisors
  • 23: Avoid Flatterers & Sycophants
  • 24: How Not to be Re-Elected
  • 25: Skill Beats Luck Every Time
  • 26: The Forest and the Trees

Addenda

  • A Brief Biography
  • About The Prince
  • Demonizing Machiavelli
  • Why Machiavelli Matters
  • Machiavelli’s Rules
  • Machiavellian Misquotes
  • Translating Machiavelli
  • Machiavelli’s The Art of War
  • The Ten Faults
  • Quotes from Machiavelli
  • Other Quotes
  • Letter to Francesco Vettori
  • Bibliography & Sources

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Excerpts:

Introduction

Is a sixteenth-century political theorist still relevant to today’s political landscape, especially to modern municipal politics? I believe he is very relevant, although his words need to be recast into modern metaphors and language to appreciate them fully. Yet simply substituting terms like mayor, city manager or CAO, and staff where Machiavelli writes “prince,” “noble,” [...]

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A Brief Biography of Machiavelli

In order to appreciate Machiavelli, it is necessary to have at least a superficial understanding of his life and environment. Although his ideas are timeless, he was very much a product of his time and place – the Italian Renaissance. Five hundred years later, his ideas generally hold up well in today’s current corporate and [...]

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Machiavelli’s The Art of War

Machiavelli wrote these maxims of military strategy in Book VII of his work, The Art of War. Many of these are relevant to the lessons he gave in The Prince. For Machiavelli, the strategies of war were an inextricably integral part of politics. It wasn’t just about the clash of armies, but rather the clash [...]

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About The Prince

Il Principe, or The Prince, is a short book of 26 chapters, and roughly 30,000 words. Most modern editions are fewer than 100 pages, including an introduction and perhaps a glossary. It’s elegantly written, although the author used run-on sentences a lot. Newer editions break up those long pieces into more digestible portions.

It was written [...]

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Chapter 21: Saving Your Reputation

Nothing, wrote Machiavelli in Chapter XXI: How a Prince Should Conduct Himself So As To Gain Renown, is as important to your political career as having a good reputation:

“Nothing makes a prince so well esteemed as undertaking great enterprises and setting a fine example.”

While those great enterprises are building the community, at the same time [...]

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Random quote…

“Without doubt, princes become great when they overcome the hurdles that are placed in their path…” — Niccolo Machiavelli, The Prince, Ch. XX

Recent Comments

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Top Posts & Pages

  • Chapter 18: The Subtle Art of Lying
  • Chapter 10: Defending Your Position
  • Chapter 8: Does the End Justify the Means?
  • Chanakya: The Indian Machiavelli
  • Demonizing Machiavelli
  • Translating Machiavelli
  • Chapter 4: Flexing Your Muscles
  • Chapter 21: Saving Your Reputation
  • Chapters 15-21
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