Machiavelli, The Prince and Political Communication

Authors : Uğur ORAL

Pages : 336-344

View : 20 | Download : 10

Publication Date : 2023-01-01

Article Type : Review Paper

Abstract :Niccolò Machiavelli has been a much-discussed thinker both in his time and today. Both positive and negative comments are frequently made about Machiavelli\`s views. In some interpretations, Machiavelli is presented as a tyrant who advises the rulers to establish authority over the people by oppression, but according to some interpretations, he is the pioneer of the modern political approach, which purifies political thought from religious influences and defines it with a human-oriented approach. Like Machiavelli, his well-known book, The Prince, has always been at the center of controversy since the time it was written. The secular approach advocated by Machiavelli in his book, in which he wrote his suggestions to the rulers as a result of his experiences and observations during his diplomatic missions, garnered the reaction of the Catholic Church even in the years when the Prince was written. The advice Machiavelli gave to the rulers in The Prince was considered by some as the praise of a repression regime, and by others as a rational call to warn the public and raise awareness. As advice to the rulers, the Prince also offers a different perspective in the field of public relations and political communication. While explaining how politics should be done in his work, Machiavelli also explains his views on how to communicate with the public and how a political message should be given. Therefore, Prince reflects Machiavelli\`s views not only in the field of management science but also in the context of communication management. This study aims to reveal Machiavelli\`s approach to the concepts of political public relations and political communication in light of his suggestions to the monarch in his book The Prince.
Keywords : Public relations, communication, Machiavelli, Prince, political communication