Fursten och Republiken : En analys av Niccoló Machiavellis historiebruk i två kända verk

Sammanfattning: The following essay aims to explore and analyse Niccoló Machiavelli’s, primarily, political and ideological use of history in his two most well known pieces of writing: The Prince and Discourses. The essay's theoretical framework is that of Klas-Göran Karlssons theory, namely use of history. In using this theory one analyse the, most often written or verbal, intermediation of historical knowledge a person or institution uses in order to most commonly make a point or statement come across. This has applied to the aforementioned books but the point in time in which they were written was also taken into consideration as the context around the production of a piece of literature can hint at what actual point is trying to be made. The actual analysis is ordered chronologically with the Discourses being handled first closely followed by The Prince. Following this both of Machiavellis works are compared to one another in order to find an overarching theme stretching through both of them. The essays closing chapters then discusses the initial questions asked about the books, namely how Machiavelli uses history, in what context is it being used, and for what purpose(s) or to what end is this done? The overarching point or conclusion I want to see Machiavelli trying to make on the basis of both works is to argue for an independent Italian state. In the Discourses, Machiavelli shows the structure and model of the state, while in The Prince he shows how, in the worst case, one needs to act in order to achieve this purpose. A secondary point that Machiavelli is trying to make is again linked to marveling at history but also grieving it.. He seems to want to point out what history has to teach us and that many do not take that chance to learn from it.