Power must be represented. Reputation and deception in Machiavelli’s work

Authors

  • Miguel Fernández de la Peña Universidad Complutense de Madrid

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.18042/cepc/rep.206.02

Abstract

Machiavelli’s work represented a break regarding the way in which Humanism, and the ancient authors on which it relied, conceived the role of appearances in politics. His work opened a new space to elaborate different ways of using deception based on the impossibility of a direct relationship between power and the rest of society. This distance between actors demanded the need for a conscious strategy of representation of power without which it would be impossible to imagine an effective government in favour of the common good. Deception ceased to be solely linked to tyranny and came to be understood as the result of a model made legitimate only through the good reputation of the sovereign or the magistrates.

Published

2024-12-11

Issue

Section

ARTICLES