Machiavelli and the Problems of Military Force - by Sean Erwin (Paperback)

Book Synopsis

Central to Niccolò Machiavelli's writing is the argument that a successful state is one that prefers to lose with its own arms (arma propriis)than to win with the arms of others (arma alienis). This book sheds light on Machiavelli's critiques of military force and provides an important reinterpretation of his military theory.

Sean Erwin argues that the distinction between arma propriisand arma alienis poses a central problem to Machiavelli's case for why modern political institutions offer modes of political existence that ancient ones did not. Starting from the influence of Lucretius and Aelianus Tacticus on the Dell'arte della guerra, Erwin examines Machiavelli's criticism of mercenary, auxiliary, and mixed forces.

Giving due consideration to an overlooked conceptual distinction in Machiavelli studies, this book is a valuable and original contribution to the field.

Review Quotes

This book is a philosophically sophisticated and historically sensitive study that sheds important new light on the significance of Machiavelli's writings on the question of military force. It should be essential reading for all scholars who work within the field of Machiavelli studies.

Christopher Holman, Associate Professor of Political Theory, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore

When erudition meets creativity and conceptual rigor encounters historical research, there you have a book like Sean Erwin's: a brilliant reinterpretation of Machiavelli's military theory that finally reveals his (unjustly underrated) Art of War as a philosophical work of considerable weight. A welcome novelty in the crowded field of Machiavelli studies.

Gabriele Pedullà, Professor of Italian and Comparative Literature, University of Rome III, Italy

About the Author

Sean Erwin is Professor of Philosophy at Barry University, USA. He currently serves as the Vice President for the Society of Medieval and Renaissance Philosophy and as the Co-founder and Co-chair of the International Machiavelli Society.