ECU Libraries Catalog

Machiavelli's broken world / John M. Najemy.

Author/creator Najemy, John M., 1943-
Other author/creatorOxford University Press.
Format Electronic and Book
EditionFirst edition.
Publication InfoOxford, United Kingdom ; New York, NY : Oxford University Press, 2022.
Descriptionx, 475 pages ; 24 cm
Supplemental Content Full text available from Oxford Scholarship Online History
Supplemental Content Full text available from Oxford Scholarship Online
Subject(s)
Contents The Travails of Italy viewed from the Chancery -- Sins of Princes -- Mercenaries and Cesare Borgia -- The Papacy and Julius II -- Momentous and Natural Enmities -- Family and Faction -- Faction and Regime -- Regime and Repression -- Repression and Conspiracy -- Corruption and Tyranny.
Abstract Machiavelli was painfully aware of living in a disastrous moment of Italy's history: foreign invasions, occupations and shattered states. He was harshly critical of Italy's princes (such as Francesco Sforza), its professional military class (especially Cesare Borgia), and the Church (Pope Julius II), and this is a study of his evaluation of their failures and of their underlying causes. He believed that the root of Italy's political weakness was the excessive ambition of its elite classes, who, like their counterparts in ancient Rome, were prepared to overthrow governments that obstructed their ambition. Machiavelli formulates this phenomenon, first theoretically, then historically in the context of the Florentine Republic's descent into family-based factionalism, which culminated in the brittle Medici regime. The most damaging tyranny, according to Machiavelli, was the collective tyranny of wealthy elites ready to undermine law and government to preserve and augment their power and wealth. -- Provided by publisher.
Bibliography noteIncludes bibliographical references and index.
Access restrictionAvailable only to authorized users.
Technical detailsMode of access: World Wide Web
Genre/formElectronic books.
LCCN 2021948088
ISBN0199580928
ISBN9780199580927

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