The Prince

'The Prince' is a political treatise by Niccolò Machiavelli, written in 1513 and published in 1532. The book is a pragmatic guide for political leaders, focused on how to maintain power and navigate the complex and often ruthless world of governance. Although the text is commonly viewed as a manual for manipulation and a justification for Machiavellian deceit and cunning, it has also been interpreted as a realistic, if cynical, analysis of power dynamics. The work is a foundational text in political theory and continues to be studied and debated today.