The Foundations of Modern Political Thought by Quentin Skinner - Book Report/Review Example

The Foundations of Modern Political Thought, by Quentin Skinner Renaissance Diplomacy, by Garrett Mattingly Machiavellism: The Doctrine of Raison D’etat and Its Place in Modern History, by Friedrich Meinecke The Prince and the Pauper, by R.B.J Walker The period from 12th century to 15th century was significant in world history because this period saw the development of very new concepts like liberty and sovereignty. This period paved way for Renaissance through these various concepts and by replacing hereditary monarchy with Republican self-government. The given articles provide an insight into the situations that led to the development of Renaissance political ideologies, including the theories by Machiavelli. In fact, the period witnessed considerable confusion, as there were various forces in play, including the imperial forces, the Church, and the laymen power. It is at this point that Machiavelli came to the fore, identifying and juxtaposing the contradiction between power, ethics and necessity. In other words, one can find the elements of realism, naturalism and constructivism in the concepts of Machiavelli. In the work ‘The Foundations of Modern Political Thought’, Quentin Skinner posits that the concept of liberty arose in the Italian states as an effort to struggle free from the power of Emperor and the Church1. However, the work ‘Renaissance Diplomacy’ by Garrett Mattingly shows that despite the setbacks faced by the Church in its influence on the Latin West, it still had a huge influence on the international law, along with Roman law and German law2. It is at this point that Friedrich Meinecke writes ‘Machiavellism: The Doctrine of Raison Detat and Its Place in Modern History’ to show that Machiavelli’s concepts should be understood as a byproduct of the influence of all these traditions, and the realist in Machiavelli is making an attempt to accommodate all these warring elements3. Similarly, in ‘The Prince and the Pauper’, R.B.J Walker claims that Machiavelli should be understood as someone who tries to make sense of the specific circumstances of the time instead of one who possessed in-depth knowledge about political life. Therefore, one can find elements of realism, power politics, humanism, republicanism, and civic virtue in his concepts4. In fact, the monarchies exerted unconditional power over other states and the theoretical support for this exercise of power came from people like Thucydides. However, as time passed, it became necessary for people to struggle out of the rules of monarchs, and this desire made them come up with new propaganda, including liberty and sovereignty. Skinner points out that it is the need to repulse German control that made the Italian cities of Lombardy and Tuscany to come up with the ideological weapon of liberty5.Along with this, the idea of sovereignty arose as the corresponding right to govern themselves. This new ideological weapon enabled people to experiment with new forms of self-government, like a consular form of government and the podesta, in order to maintain the freedom of individuals. However, this fight lacked a legal support unlike the power imposed on them by the Roman Empire and Papacy6. Thus, it became necessary for these societies to come up with some theoretical framework to support the new ideology. Soon, people like Bartolus came to the fore with new concepts, and Bartolus said that the people of Italian republic states have as much power over their own populace as the Emperor has because they constitute themselves a free people7. Though the Church wanted to continue exercising its coercive power over the world, including the Italian cities, people like Marsiglio attacked the Church’s right to use its power in the physical world. The claim was that power of control should be in the hands of a faithful human legislator in a secular setting. However, a reading of the work by Mattingly proves that the Church and its canonic law had a great influence on the development of the international legal framework. Though the Church witnessed a fall in its authority and a development in the diplomatic institutions by the first half of the fifteenth century, the canon law still retained great influence over international law. According to Mattingly, while the civil law was being developed, many elements of the teachings of the Church and the customs of the Italian cities were assimilated. That means by the fifteenth century, a legal framework was developed in Europe but it was significantly influenced by the laws of the Church8. Though the kings of Europe disliked this supremacy, the rule of the Church remained powerful. By this time, the powers of monarchs, the independent federal states, and the Church were in significantly contradictory terms, and all three were claiming superiority over the others. No theoretical framework was capable of linking all the three. In the words of Meinecke, there arose the conflict between raison d’etat on one hand, and ethics and law on the other. It was at this point of time that Machiavellism took birth, giving a new interpretation to raison d’etat for the modern Western world. Machiavelli supported raison d’etat. Drawing from the traditions of antiquity and humanism, he founded his theory of virtu. In fact, he even believed that if a republic is completely corrupt and degenerated, the only way of improvement and survival is monarchy. Thus, through the concept of virtu, Machiavelli managed to form a link between the republican and monarchical tendencies9. In addition, he developed the theories of fortuna and necessita. In fact, Machiavelli was trying to satisfy both city republics and monarchs. One can easily say that Machiavelli shows some significant similarity with Thucydides. Firstly, both of them admit the need to use power. Secondly, both of them deny the power of gods. In other words, one can find the elements of naturalism and constructivism in Machiavelli at the same time. According to Walker, Machiavelli should be viewed as one who articulated the most important problems of international relations theory in a provocative way10. In addition, Machiavelli points out that political affairs are to be understood in the light of circumstances11. According to Machiavelli, fortresses are a hindrance because they affect the capacity to change according to situations because they offer a feeling of permanence. It is pointed out by Machiavelli that the virtu of a king is to be understood as his ability to manage fortuna. Reversing what Christianity proclaims, he pointed out that politics is more important than God. Thus, one can see the elements of Aristotle’s concept of man as a political animal and the Roman view of considering the republic as offering the highest form of political life in Machiavelli’s concept. In sharp contrast to the Christian and Platonist traditions, Machiavelli claimed a greatness in time that does not require completion by philosophy or grace12. Thus, it is clear that the effort made by Machiavelli was to find a balance between different influences; that of the Church, the Roman Empire, and the classical political philosophy. Therefore, he is constructivist and a naturalist at the same time. In total, it can be said that the period from twelfth to fifteenth century was rather tumultuous in international relations. There were power claims by emperors, by the Church, and by laymen, and all of them exerted equal power on the development of diplomatic institutions and legal framework. By the end of the period, Machiavelli came, giving a new direction to international relations by identifying the existing disparity between power, ethics, and necessity. Read More