TERM PAPER IDEAS AND OTHER TOPICS FOR WRITING

POLITICAL VIEWS

1. Machiavelli's political experiences that may have influenced his writing of The Prince.
2. The political climate of Machiavelli's times as reflected in The Prince.
3. The Prince as a political manual for achieving and maintaining power.
4. Political favors and special gifts needed to win popular support.
5. The image of the fox and the lion.
6. Machiavelli's use of biblical models such as Moses when describing the successful ruler.

HISTORICAL VIEWS

1. Cesare Borgia as Machiavelli's model prince.
2. Machiavelli's view of Louis XII of France.
3. Machiavelli's attitude toward the Church.
4. The influence of ancient Roman history on Machiavelli.

THEMATIC VIEWS

1. Machiavelli's concept of the effective prince.
2. The roles of fate and fortune in achieving absolute power.
3. Violence, cruelty, and murder in Machiavelli's discussion of power.
4. The use of military forces and fortresses in maintaining power.
5. The need to win the respect and admiration of the people.
6. Machiavelli as a Renaissance humanist.
7. The role of mercy in helping a prince achieve power.
8. Machiavelli's view of human nature.
9. The role of cruelty in helping a prince maintain power.

CONTEMPORARY VIEWS

1. General characteristics of a modern leader who wishes to achieve the power described in The Prince.

2. Machiavelli's analogy that compares fortune to a woman, especially as it applies to the modern political process.

3. A prince is only as wise and effective as the advisers or ministers who surround him. Use modern examples.

4. "Men forget more quickly the death of their fathers than the loss of their property."

5. The "hated and despised" prince as a role model. Use modern examples.

6. Modern parallels of Machiavelli's different kinds of principalities.

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