The rise of populist leaders like Trump certainly raises issues of leadership and effectiveness. The current populist moment may be one of “Cultural Backlash,” but there is also merit in resurrecting and assessing the work of Niccolò Machiavelli in evaluating Trump’s leadership and success. Would Machiavelli, with his emphasis on a “success ethic” and a studied moral indifference, rate Trump to be a “great prince?” This article analyzes Machiavelli’s role and contemporary relevance as well as what he might say about a leader like Donald Trump. Machiavelli offers one insight into a style of leader that exposes the dangers of ignorance allied with self-interest in a nationalist pose. Also, we can visualize (with Machiavelli’s help) a modern reconsideration of the dimensions of love, hate, and fear in 21st century leadership—especially among national populist leaders. This matters politically to us all.
ActonJohn DalbergLord. 1887. “Acton-Creighton Correspondence,” On Line Library of Liberty. oll.libertyfund.org
2.
AdamsRobert M.1992. “The Rise, Proliferation, and Degradation of Machiavellism: An Outline.” In The Prince, edited by NiccolòMachiavelli, 236–50. New York: W.W. Norton.
ArendtHannah. 1963. Eichmann in Jerusalem: A Report on the Banality of Evil. New York: Penguin Books.
5.
BagbyLaurie M.2002. Political Thought: A Guide to the Classics. Belmont: Wadsworth.
6.
BerlinIsaiah. 1992. “The Question of Machiavelli.” In The Prince, edited by NiccolòMachiavelli, 206–35. New York: W.W. Norton.
7.
BrunelloAnthony R.1994. “Machiavellian Ethics.” In Ready Reference: Ethics, edited by JohnK. Roth, 518–519. Hackensack, NJ: Salem Press.
8.
BrunelloAnthony R.2014. “Politics, Populism and the Democratic Ideal: The Tea Party and Neo-Libertarianism Forty years in the Making.” Review of History and Political Science2 (2): 199–225.
9.
BurnsJames MacGregor. 1956. Roosevelt: The Lion and the Fox (1882–1940). New York: Harcourt, Brace.
10.
BurnsJames MacGregor. 1978. Leadership. New York: HarperCollins.
HaleJ. P.1992. “The Setting of The Prince 1513-1514.” In The Prince, edited by NiccolòMachiavelli, 139–49. New York: W.W. Norton.
22.
HarrisPhil. 2010. “Machiavelli and the Global Compass: Ends and Means in Ethics and Leadership.” Journal of Business Ethics93:131–38. doi:10.1007/s10551-010-0630-y.
23.
HochschildArlie Russell. 2016. Strangers in Their Own Land: Anger and Mourning on the American Right. New York: New Press.
KnutsonJeane. E.1972. The Human Basis of the Polity: A Psychological Study of Political Men. Chicago: Aldine-Atherton, Inc.
31.
LuccheseFilippo Del. 2017. “Machiavelli and Constituent Power: The Revolutionary Foundation of Modern Political Thought.” European Journal of Political Theory16:3–23. doi:10.1177/147488511454491.
32.
MachiavelliNiccolò. 1950. The Prince and the Discourses. Translated by MaxLerner. New York: Random House.
33.
MachiavelliNiccolò. 1992. The Prince. Translated by Robert M.Adams. 2nd ed.New York: Norton Critical Editions, W.W. Norton.
34.
NelsonBrian R.1996. Western Political Thought: From Socrates to the Age of Ideology. 2nd ed.Englewood Cliffs: Prentice Hall.
35.
NorrisPippaInglehartRonald. 2019. Cultural Backlash: Trump, Brexit, and Authoritarian Populism. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
36.
RussellBertrand. 1938. Power: A New Social Analysis. London: Allen & Unwin.
37.
SabineGeorge H.ThorsonThomas L.1973. A History of Political Theory. 4th ed.New York: Dryden Press.
