MACHIAVELLI AND THE ISSUE OF CONQUEST OF CIVIL PRINCEDOM:

BETWEEN CITIZEN SUPPORT AND THE MARGIN FOR VIOLENCE

Abstract

Machiavelli’s political thought is guided by complex paths and winding alleys. In The Prince, these contours are recurrent. In the drive to understand power relations, the complex universe that involves the formation and maintenance of governments and regimes, the author installs theoretical traps that make reading his work an arduous task. In an attempt to understand this labyrinthine exposition, we cast a glance at the ideas presented in the controversial Chapter IX. Focused on the conditions of the “civil princedom”, an unusual way of conquering political power through the support of fellow-citizens, the text is marked by a set of theoretical anomalies. Thus, the main objective of this article is to analyze the meaning of this achievement that, although inscribed in a context marked by episodes of violence, occurs using this form of support. In this, our aim is to evaluate the aspects that orbit the premises of this particular seizure of political power, assessing the importance that these arguments play for the understanding of Machiavellian thought, with emphasis on the conceptual richness that emanates from it. Finally, we will seek to propose the possibility of understanding the phenomenon of conquest in the interpretative panorama within which it is inserted.