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Machiavelli

Niccolo Machiavelli (1469–1527) was a Florentine diplomat and civil servant
whose writing included not only political theory but also plays. He is famous
more for attitudes somewhat unfairly associated with him than for anything
that he really wrote. The work of Machiavelli’s most often quoted isThe Prince,
dedicated to Machiavelli’s patron, Duke Lorenzo di Piero de’ Medici. It is a
short analysis of how to rule an Italian city state successfully in the late middle
ages. He also, however, wrote a much more solid study of early Italian political
history,The Discourses on the First Ten Books of Livy, which sets out Machiavelli’s
commitment to republicanism (although he believed that a single ruler was
necessary to found or reform states). In both works he presents a tough and
practical view of politics, in which questions of how to usepowerto achieve
desired ends, by the use of any and every technique and resource available, are
seen as vastly more important than moral or philosophical questions about the
desirability of such strategies. He is also sometimes seen as the first writer in
political science, meaning an attempt to work out basic empirical rules of
political life and to construct a ‘non-normative’ account of the political system,
as opposed to clearly normative and evaluative political philosophy.
His name has been lent, through ‘Machiavellianism’, to any highly manip-
ulative and cynical political activity of a self-seeking nature, especially when
totally devoid of general principles. This is actually most unfair to a man
dedicated to the welfare of his native city state, and whose other works are an
outstanding plea for Italian unity, which aim was indeed the inspiration ofThe
Princeitself. However, as a label for a common phenomenon in political life it is
very useful.

Majority System

A simple majority system is one in which a full arithmetic majority of votes
(50% + 1) is required before an act or rule can be passed, a decision
implemented, a candidate elected, or a motion accepted. As such, majority
systems can exist in committees, legislatures, electorates and anywhere where
some process of vote counting is required to elect or confirm a candidate or