Machiavelli's ideas are as important in our time as in his own. His insights and prescriptions help us make sense of today's political upheavals and natural calamities and reduce them to a working order. The chapters in Machiavelli Then and Now explore Machiavelli's central concerns: statecraft and order, liberty and citizenship, diplomacy and leadership, modes of strategization, the quest for empire - all set against the basic contention between autarchy, oligarchy and democracy. They also address the ethical and behaviourial factors behind political practice, such as force, suasion, ambition, corruption and vigilance in public discourse. The contributors consider the role of language, text and the imagination in Machiavelli, and they also bring the Machiavellian discourse closer to our own times, in relation to Gandhi, Gramsci and Althusser. The book will interest historians, political scientists and students of public policy; philosophers, rhetoricians and literary critics; and no less institution builders, diplomats and, administrators.

Explores Machiavelli's intellectual engagement with human affairs in a wide triple perspective of history, politics and literature.

About the Author
Prasanta Chakravarty is Associate Professor at the Department of English, University of Delhi. His research interests encompass Early Modern Literature and Culture, Literature and Political Thought, Poetry and Poetics & Literary Theory. Sukanta Chaudhuri is Emeritus Professor of English at Jadavpur University. His research interests are the European Renaissance, textual studies and digital humanities. Among his latest books is The Metaphysics of Text (Cambridge University Press, 2010).


Book Information
ISBN 9781316516720
Author Sukanta Chaudhuri
Format Hardback
Page Count 348
Imprint Cambridge University Press
Publisher Cambridge University Press
Weight(grams) 600g
Dimensions(mm) 235mm * 158mm * 26mm