Research Paper on:
The Machiavellian Approach to Power

Unformatted Sample Text from the Research Paper:
campaigns, fight dirty in them, or take over countries without an scruples. Power is the ultimate high for many corporate executives and national leaders. But there is another sort of  power that is all too often overlooked. There has been a power of the people which is a collective sort, and then there is power that emanates from the top  echelons of government as discussed. Indeed, individual power looms large. Leaders in many nations have seized power through history in coups. Some have been elected to offices but took  more than their fair share, rendering their legacy a bit longer than intended. In the United States for example, power is finite. Each branch of the government has a certain  amount of power and little by little legislation has rendered a branch more or less powerful. In the end, it turns out that the U.S. system of government truly balances  power. Further, there are term limitations for most offices. While the United States government is based upon a system of checks and balances, that is not the case in many  other countries Rather, other nations have autocratic style governments where the people are led by one leader or a larger system of government. In fact, there are many theories and  ideologies rendering leadership, and then there is Machiavelli. Much of Machiavellis The Prince revolves around various types of monarchs and then finally, the authors own philosophy surfaces. It appears  that Machiavelli believes that Princes must meet the needs of the people. They cannot merely look to please themselves. In light of this sentiment, one has to question Machiavellis  own ideas in terms of who is in charge. If the leaders are supposed to please the people, then do the people really have the power? Much in The Prince